Shukaku Love
by paws-bells
Summary: GaaSaku She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5819

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 10/07/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter One

* * *

Haruno Sakura was having a _very bad day_.

'In fact,' the pink-haired kunoichi thought as she leapt nimbly from tree branch to tree branch in what she was starting to see as a doomed effort in escape, 'this was rapidly degenerating into the day from hell.'

It was all her fault actually. None of this would have happened if she had just headed straight back for the safety of Konohagakure. But no, being the almighty second most powerful medic-nin of Konoha that she was, she just had to poke her nose where it didn't belong and stop to play the part of a Good Samaritan.

Kindness just did not pay as well as it had once upon a time, and all Sakura got for her random act of good deed for the day was a long bloody slash down her arm as well as what she now realized was going to be a one-way ticket to hell.

The female kunoichi cursed herself for being so softhearted; Naruto was right, her sensitive trait was going to turn around and bite her in the ass one day, only she had never thought that her blonde fox brother would be so accurate in the literal sense.

A loud growl erupted from somewhere behind the twenty year old, the sound so thunderous that she could feel the leaves around her shake from the vibration. Worst still, the ever present slither of sand became even louder if possible. That could only mean one thing.

_He_ was closing in on her.

Sakura barely managed to squelch the feeling of blind panic and instead worked on pumping more chakra into the soles of her feet. It would do her no good to go into hysteria now; she needed all her wits around her if she even hoped to pull out of this episode fully intact.

She doubted that would be the case though.

As it was, Sakura was sure that one single misstep from her and it would all be over. _He_ was that near. The pink-haired kunoichi grimaced as she quickly considered her circumstances. It was not looking good at all. She was returning from the completion of her one-man mission and was still a good two days away from Konohagakure. It would be impossible for her to maintain this sort of insane speed for the next forty-eight hours, and combined with her apparent fatigue from her earlier assignment, her exhausted body was already starting to feel the strain as Sakura entered the forth hour of this high-speed chase.

Perspiration dripped from her temples and her pale face showed her physical distress as she forced herself forward and to not think of the certain death that was sure to await her behind. Sakura wasn't planning to give up just yet; she could just imagine the look on the face of her shishou if news came back to the Godaime that her prodigious student had been eaten alive by the Shukaku. Morbidly she just knew that her teacher would find a way to resurrect her just to strangle her to death herself for being so careless.

Sakura gritted her teeth and groaned inwardly as she tried to increase her speed once more. To her dismay, _he _seemed to be keeping up with her with almost no effort at all; it was as if he was toying with her, enjoying the thrill of the hunt. In fact, he seemed to be inching nearer towards her!! Sakura hissed as her heart pounded with adrenaline and increasing fear. Really, she had only herself to blame for this entire fiasco.

Why, oh why, did she have to go and help the 5th Kazekage?

* * *

Gaara was seeing the world in a most glorious haze of red.

Bloodlust. Instincts. Mate.

The Shukaku within quivered with fierce anticipation. By stroke of luck, he had found her, and now all he had to do was to mark her, claim that tantalizing blood scent as his, _and mate her_.

He lifted his great head to sniff the air; inhaling through his snout and tasting the scent of her on his tongue. She was tiring rapidly; intermingling with the siren call of her blood he could smell the increasing amount of lactic acid that was accumulating within her body, but yet she still pushed herself in an effort to increase the distance between them. Gaara was amused—and excited.

His female was both determined and strong, to have survived his relentless pursuit for four hours straight.

It was just too bad for her that he was stronger, and even more determined to capture her than she was to evade him.

The tailed beast rumbled its fierce demand within his mind, loud and unrelenting. Gaara focused his vision on the slender female but a mere hundred feet in front of him. It was time to end the chase. The Shukaku vessel increased his speed drastically, closing in on his pink-haired prey in no time.

Eighty feet.

Fifty feet.

She seemed to realize that he was getting nearer, and threw herself forward with one last burst of speed.

He was giving her no chance.

Thirty feet.

Ten feet.

She chanced a desperate glance back, and her brilliant emerald eyes widened with fear at his overwhelming proximity.

He grinned, a slash of fangs and lips.

And pounced.

* * *

Oh god. Oh god. Oh god.

The human-sized Shukaku was but a few feet away from her when she last turned her head to glance at its progress mere seconds ago. She could swear that her blood had frozen up then; despite the fact that Gaara had not transformed into the massive form of the Shukaku; the human-sized version of the sand Tanuki was just as terrifying.

It had all started a few hours ago when she had run across the injured Kazekage. Despite not having seen him for almost five years, Sakura had instantly recognized that blood red 'ai' character on the left side of his forehead, not to mention that distant charcoal-rimmed jade gaze. Only Gaara could look as if he could hardly care less even when he had just been bitten by a King Cobra, but not for Sakura. She just couldn't leave the Suna shinobi alone and nice meddlesome medic-nin that she was, she had immediately offered to use the simplified version of her self-created poison extracting jutsu to remove the potent poison from his body.

Sakura was pretty sure that Gaara didn't remember her from those years ago, and that it was only for the leaf symbol on her hitai-ite that he had silently consented to her request to heal him. Konoha and Suna had been allies for almost seven years now, after all. The extraction had been a success; the poison hadn't traveled too far into Gaara's system, and to Sakura's fascination, the Shukaku within him had been slowly nullifying the effects of the venom even before she had removed them.

Her work thus done, Sakura had cheerfully pronounced Gaara healthy again and had received the male's slight nod of appreciation when she made the biggest mistake of her life.

She cut herself accidentally.

It wasn't even a small nick; but a long slash from elbow to wrist when the cloth encasing for her set of kunai ripped and pressed the sharp blade of the weapon against her soft flesh. Immediately preoccupied with the sudden pain and the blood, she hadn't really understood at first that sudden stillness, and then the soft slither of sand that seemed to completely occupy her hearing. It was only when she lifted her head in confusion and saw Gaara layered in sand that everything became frighteningly clear.

She quickly remembered the Kazekage's strange fixation with blood even when they were but preteens, and how very _well_ those encounters always ended.

Sakura wasn't very proud of what she had done right after that, but upon witnessing Gaara's immediate and unwarranted transformation and having first hand knowledge of what said dangerous shinobi could do, the pink-haired kunoichi had quickly fallen into the instincts of prey and did the first thing that she should not have done: run like hell.

It was a really stupid thing to do now that she thought of it, for any hopes of Gaara leaving her alone in favor of rampaging all over the countryside was quickly lost when the Shukaku got into the chase. Not that her regrets were helping her at all at the moment but-

_Slam. _

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and gasped when she felt the inevitable happen. A huge impact smashed against her mid-jump and the pink-haired kunoichi was thrown off course immediately, missing the next tree branch that she was supposed to land on. Emerald eyes widened as she started to fall from the canopy of tall trees with the great weight still pressed threateningly behind her, and belatedly, Sakura started to wonder if she would die before she hit the floor…or if the Shukaku would crush her to bits unto the ground. Either way…

Was this going to be the end then?

Sakura watched in a state of suspended shock as the greenery of the forest floor rushed up before her peripheral vision to greet her one last time. She squeezed her eyes shut.

God, she was only twenty! She didn't want to die-

_Thud. _

…

They landed on something soft. Sakura opened her eyes gingerly to meet the bed of sand that had cushioned their fall. She could only gape with shock.

She was alive!

Sakura's budding relief was quickly doused when _he_ shifted. She stiffened quickly. She was not out of danger yet. The pink-haired kunoichi tried to still her rapidly pounding heart and calm her harsh breathing as she quickly contemplated what to do next.

She could try to use her superhuman strength to punch him away from her, though she really doubted that would accomplish anything other than to piss him off even further, not to mention that her chakra reserves were on an all time low at the moment and harnessing them for that one solid hit would probably deplete her energy so much so that she wouldn't even be able to escape…

Or she could stay put and see what Gaara wanted from her.

The latter was the only choice that made sense; after all, she reasoned, if he wanted to kill her he would not have formed the sand bed in the first plac-

Something wet and tentative touched the sensitive flesh at the back of her neck then, and Sakura's breath hitched with surprise.

_What the- I can't- Did he just licked-_

"Anou…Kazekage-sama?" Sakura squeaked out at the male clearly situated behind her. She received a muted growl for all her careful efforts at politesse and respect.

And then he bit her.

She jerked and gasped. It wasn't a real bite, but he had scraped his teeth hard enough against the fragile skin of her neck to be considered as a painful nip. What the hell? Was he planning to eat her or something? Was that why he did not kill her on the spot? Was she going to be sushi? Panicking slightly, Sakura started to thrash about.

She was just as quick to still when she felt teeth latch warningly over her neck again. Sakura shut her eyes once more. Crap. She could see her epitaph already. _Eaten alive by her own good intentions. Let this be a solemn warning to all._

Fortunately for Sakura, Gaara did no such thing. He started to release her slowly instead, and Sakura opened her eyes cautiously when she felt him straddle her hips firmly and sit up. Was he going to get up and let her up too?

She could barely prevent the sharp intake of surprise from escaping her lips when he flipped her over suddenly. Earlier facedown and all but pressed intimately to the ground, she was now exposed to the glaring sunlight and it took a moment for her to adjust her vision to the male who was holding her captive. Wide, slightly unfocused emerald met intense jade and Sakura had no idea what to make of the almost fierce look that he was currently regarding her with. Gaara had changed back to his human form now that he had her in his grasp, and it was all Sakura could handle when he suddenly lifted her injured left arm to meet his scrutiny.

To say that Sakura was stupefied beyond belief would be an understatement. Why the hell was Gaara so fascinated with her wound? It wasn't a very deep cut; in fact, the wound had already clotted and there was nothing but small streaks of dried blood left on her arm. He seemed to find the crimson-browned rivulets interesting though…and Sakura watch incomprehensively as the strange male whom she barely even knew tilted his head closer as if to inhale the coppery scent of her blood.

Sakura started violently when he started to lick tentatively at the wound. Totally shocked, the immobilized Konoha kunoichi protested his action by trying to rip her arm from his hold. Gaara merely tightened long fingers around her left wrist and his charcoal-rimmed jade eyes shot straight to hers. All around her, Sakura felt the sand shift warningly and the resigned kunoichi forced herself to still once more. God, it wasn't that she didn't want to do anything else, to escape, but Sakura knew better than to try. It was not like she could easily forget about the unstable and cold-blooded killer currently holding her captive when he was practically sitting on her.

He must have been satisfied with her temporary obedience, for he went back to what he had been occupied with earlier, and Sakura could not help but watch dry-mouthed as he meticulously lapped away all the blood from her arm like a giant feline. It was an odd experience, feeling his wet raspy tongue moving slowly against her soft skin again and again and watching his utmost attention on her wound made her abdominal muscles clench in a way that she had never experienced before. The female ninja frowned at the foreign feeling and was only too glad to have her arm back when he was done with it.

Then he started to pay all his attention to her once more, and Sakura decided that she didn't like that one bit either. The pink-haired female was thinking of all the possible scenarios that could happen if she used her superhuman sucker punch on him when his face was suddenly looming right before hers, his eyes staring into hers with utmost intent. He was so near that she could see the slivers of pale gold in those light green orbs. She froze. It was a good thing that she had received all those trainings from shishou, or surely she would have been reduced to a blabbering mess by now.

_When in the presence of a predator, do Not look away from its eyes. _

It took all of her willpower not to turn away from him in submission but she had done it. Feeling a little proud of herself for her small victory, Sakura decided to try her luck with Gaara once more. "Anou…Kazekage-sama?" Sakura whispered even though their noses were nary an inch apart. "Why are you doing this?"

Predictably, he didn't answer her, just continued to look hard into her eyes, as if searching for something. Sakura was starting to feel a little freaked out.

'_What the hell_,' Inner Sakura, who had been suspiciously inconspicuous for the past four hours, finally spoke up then. '_What are you waiting for? Attack him now! Can't you see that he's going to kill us?! Who cares if he is the Kazekage and we have to maintain diplomatic relations with him? He was the one who sat on us first!! Attack first and talk later!_'

"Don't do it."

That soft, silky voice jolted Sakura back to reality. She did not know that she had clenched her right fist and focused her remaining chakra onto it until she felt one of his hands easily close over her smaller one. Sakura turned her face aside and watched dumbly as his large, long-fingered hand engulfed hers completely. They both knew that he could easily crush those fragile bones anytime he felt like it. Sakura started to shake slightly from fear and her inner self screeched all kinds of insult at the redheaded male currently all but leaning over her.

Sakura was scared out of her wits, and worst still, she did not know how to react to his offensive. In fact, she couldn't, for in all truth Gaara was doing nothing but physically restraining her. He wasn't attacking at all and that was what made the pink-haired kunoichi so nervous and uncertain to act. It would have been much easier for her to respond had he been aggressive but that was not what he was doing and his current uncharacteristic behavior threw her in for a loop. Confusion warred with fear and was winning.

What was going on here?

Sakura decided that she did not want to know. This whole chain of events from her healing Gaara to his capture of her was nothing if not strange. Not that she gave much thought about the matter, but she had never expected for him to be the type to go about climbing atop of people just to immobilize them. Gaara always seemed so _untouchable_, and she would have thought that his ever present sand would have done the job for him.

It was really, really odd.

Sakura shook her head inwardly. What was she thinking, analyzing the situation at a moment like this? She needed to get herself out of this predicament, quick, but it seemed that nothing short of his willing release of her would accomplish that.

Feeling slightly calmer now she was (almost) sure that he wasn't planning to murder her, she turned her gaze back to his.

"Please let me go."

Something flashed in his eyes at her soft request, and his grip on her tightened. Once again, a mystified Sakura was left to wonder what that could mean. Surely-

"No."

It took awhile for her to process that softly uttered word. Inner Sakura started to shriek furiously and wave her hands angrily. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the Kazekage above her.

"What do you mean 'no'?" The kunoichi demanded as her emerald eyes started to light up with feminine indignation. She had about enough of this weird encounter and she wanted out, now! She was exhausted, she was dirty and she wanted to go home. She was _not_ in the mood to wrestle on the ground with insane, sand-wielding, demon-hosting ninjas who could only speak in monosyllables and seemed to have developed a sudden liking for using her as target practice!

"I demand that you let me go now, Gaara! Did you forget who I am, Kazekage? The 5th Hokage is not going to be happy about this, you hear me? Let me go! Don't make me get nasty!"

He only appeared slightly amused by her bluster, and that was what set the pink-haired kunoichi off. She growled softly and started to struggle under him, trying to buck him off her but to no avail. She was equally quick to still when he easily pressed her down with his body, so much so that it felt like they were intimately joined from chest to thigh. Sakura swore that she could feel his sleek muscle definition through their clothes then, and the female ninja felt herself turning pink.

Good god, this was_ the_ Sabaku no Gaara, for god's sake! It was mind boggling to Sakura that she was paying attention to such personal details of the deadly shinobi. Frantic to get him off her as well as to get as far away from him as possible so as not to think of such things ever again, Sakura quickly brought up her unrestrained left hand to shove at his shoulder. She was inwardly surprised when her hand met flesh and not the wall of overprotective sand barrier like she had expected.

What surprised her even more was the electrifying jolt that her voluntary contact with him had caused. She gasped and pulled back quickly, her emerald orbs flying up to meet his triumphant ones. She frowned in increasing confusion.

"Why are you doing this?" Sakura questioned. "Why can't you let me go?"

It was the question that Gaara had been waiting for her to ask. His jade gaze gleamed with hidden conquest and Sakura watched stunned as he leaned even nearer so much so that his lips touched the delicate shell of her ear. Sakura shuddered at the spine-tingling sensation of his warm breath against the sensitive skin behind her ear, so preoccupied with the intense feeling that she almost didn't catch his next words.

"Because, you are mine now."

He pulled back slowly, and a bewildered Sakura could only watch as he moved nearer to her once more, his intense focus now on her slightly parted lips. She started to panic when she realized his next intent.

_He is going to-_

He leaned down and caught her lips with his.

_

* * *

_

Mine. Mine. Mine.

The Shukaku chortled exultantly within his mind, and Gaara shoved the irritating demon to the deepest recess of his consciousness. After all, how was he going to enjoy her lips if he had an annoying voice that kept ringing in his head? The Suna shinobi ignored the growls of protests from the Tanuki and instead concentrated on getting the little kunoichi to respond to his kiss.

Instinctively, he pressed himself even closer to the female and started to coax her out of the state of shock that she was in. The powerful redhead licked her soft pink lips delicately before moving on to nip and suck on the side of her mouth, silently encouraging her to react to his sensual ministrations. The lightning bolt of attraction that he had felt when their lips touched had been undeniable, and he needed her to acknowledge that as well. Impossible as it was, the physical attraction was the only form of persuasion that he had on her to convince her to form the bond with him, and low as it was, there was no way that he was not using it as an advantage.

He _needed_ to form the mating bond with her.

She started to shift under him, and Gaara tensed slightly, preparing himself to be forcefully pushed away from her. The Shukaku would not interfere with its Shield of Sand, in fact, this kunoichi lying beneath him was probably going to be the only person that he would not, and could not harm. The Tanuki demon within him would protect her just like it did him, all because it had seen her as their mate.

Gaara had known that this day would come; the Shukaku had been looking for her ever since he had turned seventeen, and to say that he was not pleased had been an understatement. Used to being independent and remote from human interaction, Gaara did not relish the knowledge that he would one day have to share his life with an unknown female.

Even though he knew that it was probably the Tanuki's animalistic instincts that were affecting him, he was beginning to change his mind

To his inward surprise, the female lying under him did not use her perfect chakra control to shove him away. Instead, she merely made a small sound in the back of her throat before she tentatively parted her lips for him.

The gesture was primal and non-mistakable. His Shukaku hissed with triumph.

She was accepting him.

The masculine satisfaction that he felt at the moment had nothing to do with the Tanuki demon within him. The powerful shinobi wasted no time slipping into her honeyed depths, his free hand absently circling her side almost as a gesture of comfort, respecting her enough not to wander anywhere else where he was sure that she would not have liked.

She made that soft mewling sound again, and it was all he could do not to growl a reply in return. She was hesitant, but slid her tongue so sweetly against his that he groaned throatily.

Strawberries.

She tasted of the succulent red fruit, sweet and thirst-relieving, and it was dangerously intoxicating. Had she not been his chosen mate, Gaara was sure that he would have killed her. For someone to possess such an allure for him was simply unthinkable, as well as a weakness he could not afford to leave unattended.

It was with that dangerous thought in mind that he sobered enough to quickly pull away from her, his charcoal-rimmed jade eyes dark but his facial expression impassive. Her own emerald orbs were wide and slightly glazed with passion and Gaara found that he had to literally push all thoughts of satisfaction out of his mind to keep from fulfilling what the Shukaku was shrieking for him to do.

With one fluid move, he was up and a safe distance away from the little seductress who did not even possess an idea of what she was doing to him. Easily, his sand deposited her gently onto the ground before quickly creeping towards his back to form the gourd of sand once more.

He did not look at her, but could clearly hear her soft mutters to herself as she clambered noisily to her feet.

"I will escort you to Konohagakure."

Without another word or another glance at her he turned and started to walk away.

* * *

What the HELL had possessed her to let him touch her like that? Why hadn't she shoved him away, or at least resisted him? She couldn't even blame it all on him now; she had kissed him back willingly, for crying out loud! And why was Gaara even touching her in the first place?

Sakura's head pounded from all the accusing thoughts that she was pummeling herself with. She was trudging blearily behind Gaara and between cursing inwardly at the redhead and glaring daggers at his oblivious (or maybe he couldn't care less) self it had been almost two hours since that 'incident'. Sakura hadn't wanted to follow the clearly insane Kazekage at all, but instincts and common sense told her quickly that her energy was almost run out and she would definitely not be able to lower her guard enough to recoup as much rest as quickly as possible if she was all alone in the potentially hostile forest.

Besides, Gaara's promise to accompany her back to Konohagakure hadn't been intended as a request, but more of a command, and the pink-haired kunoichi wondered what he would do if she had disobeyed him and insisted on going her own way.

He would probably come after her and kiss her stupid again.

Sakura turned a furious shade of red. She felt so embarrassed; she was even clinging to him when he pulled back!! What was she, some sex-starved pervert or something?

'_Don't blame yourself._' Inner Sakura piped up then. '_He's pretty good looking, don't you think? And he kisses oh so very well too…_' Sakura's inner self giggled hideously at the memory. The pink-haired medic-nin's mouth dropped open in shock.

'I thought that you didn't like him too!!'

The distant laughter that her alter-ego bestowed upon her was slightly condescending, and Sakura bristled. Oh! If she could just meet her inner self there was so going to be one hell of a bitch fight!

'_Yes, Sakura love, but that was before he cornered us and laid a good one on us. Do you think that he would do that again?_'

'Hey!!' The pink-haired kunoichi was blustering within with fury. 'Watch what you say, that's Gaara we are talking about, the one who nearly killed us when we were thirteen, remember?'

Inner Sakura merely laughed again.

'_Yes, when we were thirteen. That's seven years ago, and aren't you a little too old to be still nursing childhood grudges?_'

Childhood grudges!! Sakura stopped mid-walk and growled loudly. Oh, she would show her inner self childhood grudges alright!!

Inner Sakura was not oblivious to the irritation of her other half, but Sakura was just so much fun to tease sometimes. The alter-ego finally decided to stop before she riled the tired girl to the point of no return.

'_Fine, fine. I will stop. I'm leaving, don't get your panties in a twist._' Inner Sakura could not resist a last parting shot. '_Though I think that you should get laid…he would make a real nice bedmate, don't you think?_'

Sakura turned bright pink.

What the- She really could not believe the cheek of-

"Why are you stopping?"

Sakura froze like a deer caught in front of the headlights. Emerald eyes lifted immediately to clash with impassive jade ones.

"Uh…"

Her reply must have displayed her astounding intellect to its full capacity, for Gaara started to backtrack to her. Slowly, one sandaled foot before the other, he barely stirred the grass as he stalked, yes, _stalked _towards her. Sakura was immediately wary of the handsome redhead's approach, but she managed to stand her ground and narrow her eyes at him.

He ignored her false bravado and continued right on until he was where he wanted to be; right before her. Sakura thought privately that if she was to pitch herself forward a little her nose would have bumped against his chest. As such the pink-haired medic-nin quickly scrambled backwards in a futile effort to put some distance between herself and the Kazekage. Futile, because he easily matched her retreat step for step. When Sakura finally realized how foolish the whole thing looked, she quickly stopped and instead opted to fold her arms across her chest and scowl at him. What she didn't realize was that she hardly looked intimidating at all, with her face smudged with dirt and pieces of leaves stuck askew in her hair from their earlier 'romp' around the forest grounds.

Her disheveled appearance made him frown, and quickly reminded him of what he had made her go through but a couple hours ago. She was probably exhausted beyond belief but yet he hadn't even heard a peep of complain coming out of her. He quickly came to the conclusion that she was either very hardy or just too afraid of him to say anything that would bring his attention to her.

His frown intensified.

For some reason, he, who had always equated a healthy dose of fear as respect, did not like the thought of her cowering before him.

"You fear me."

It wasn't a question.

Sakura gaped at his arrogance. Feminine indignation kicked in, and although Sakura inwardly admitted to herself that she was still a little wary (_wary_, not scared!) of the powerful shinobi, there was no way in hell she was going to let him know of it now.

A few things happened simultaneously then.

All at once, worn-out emerald eyes sparked to life and Sakura took an irritated step towards the very male whom she was trying to evade a couple of minutes ago. The pink-haired kunoichi thought that she heard her alter-ego laughing wickedly by the sidelines but at the moment she was too fired up to notice. Her attention was wholly focused on proving the expressionless redhead standing before her wrong.

"Do I fear you, you ask?" Sakura started very softly, her eyes gleaming with her growing irritation.

"Thank you for asking. Now let me tell you something; did you know that nothing has gone smoothly for me this entire afternoon? I had the misfortune of meeting _you_, and against my better judgment, had wasted my precious chakra healing _you_, cut myself bloody by none other than my own bloody kunai, got chased up and down half the countryside by none other than _you_ again, almost got flattened to a pancake by _you_, got sat on by _you_, got…licked by _you_, got…nevermind about that, and then got involuntarily dragged around the remaining half of the countryside by you again, and did I mention that I had been the one to heal you in the first place?"

Running on full steam now, Sakura ploughed on.

"And now I am tired and I am dirty and I am low on chakra and I am utterly confused as to what is going on and my horny alter ego can't stop raving about that stupid kiss that you had forced upon me and I am so irritated and frustrated and you ask me if I fear you? What do you think?"

Gaara did not even blink at the overwhelming wave of feminine temper that Sakura had just upended upon his head. He did respond to Sakura's sarcastically-posed question though.

"You fear me."

Sakura's mouth hung open at his emotionless reply. Then she scowled.

"Gaara?" she asked after a short moment of silence. The tall male looked down at her, his jade eyes clearly commanding her to speak. And speak she did. "Do you think that you can stand still and not call up your Shield of Sand while I summon the pathetic remains of my chakra to punch you with?"

He continued looking steadily at her.

"I would advise you not to do it."

Sakura's shoulders slumped then, her earlier ire taking away almost all of her remaining energy. "Yeah. I thought so too." The pink-haired medic-nin whispered almost dejectedly.

He found himself with the absurd urge to smile at that look on her face, and it was only thanks to his harsh upbringing that he had not done so. Instead, he placed the tips of his fingers on her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his, and mournful emerald met indulgent jade ones.

"You are exhausted." He stated by way of explanation. "We will rest here for the night. Set up camp while I secure the parameters."

Then his light green eyes sharpened, and before Sakura could make out head or tails of what was going on he leaned down and whispered softly in her ear.

"Keep your guard up, _mate_."

And with one gentle caress of his thumb against her cheek, he was gone.

Sakura could only stare blankly at the air before her in shock, so rattled was she by Gaara's yet again sudden display of…_affection_?

And why was he being affectionate to her, someone he barely knew, in the first place?

Then suddenly, almost as if the ever present fog in her mind had finally decided to clear up, she quickly recalled what Gaara had said to her earlier.

"_Keep your guard up, mate." _

"_Because, you are mine now."_

Mate.

Mine.

Inner Sakura giggled coquettishly.

'_We are so going to get some soon, huh?_'

Sakura's screech of disbelief could be heard echoing through the entire forest.

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

I have finally decided to edit and revise Shukaku Love, which means that new chapters are on the way. Good? I certainly hope so.

This fic can be generally categorized as canon-verse AU, as confusing as that sounds. Basically I'm planning to keep the facts in Shukaku Love as close to those in the canon-verse as possible, barring the fact that the Ichibi is evidently still residing within Gaara, that is. In other words, the Akatsuki failed in extracting the Shukaku. I have read before some interesting theories about how that could possibly happen; namely that the extraction process had pulled out a large portion of the tailed beast's chakra instead of the beast itself, and I have decided to use that for my explanation as well.

Either way, that was not a very important factor in this fic, just that there had been a lot of curious readers wondering how on earth Shukaku was still residing within Gaara when technically it should have been extracted already.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

As for the question of Shukaku not recognizing Sakura as Gaara's other half during the Chuunin exams, well, they were only thirteen at the time. Gaara was not matured yet, and neither was Sakura. Not that I'm keen on comparing Gaara to an animal, but most do wait until they are sexually mature before seeking out their mates, which explains why Gaara never took active notice of Sakura, until the Shukaku urged him to look for her the moment he turned seventeen.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

I know that Sakura's interaction with Inner Sakura sounds remarkably like she is suffering from schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder, but that is really not the case. Like in Hanami, I'm aware that Inner Sakura is really not so active in canon-verse, emerging only when Sakura is distressed or in danger. However, I find it rather amusing that Sakura has her own alter ego whereas Gaara also has to deal with his own parasite of a bijuu, therefore Inner Sakura will stay like this, as well.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5373

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 11/07/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Two

* * *

"What did you mean just now?"

Was the first thing Gaara heard when he returned to the clearing. The tall redhead ignored the question that the puffed-up little kunoichi was demanding for him to answer. Instead, he looked approvingly at the steady campfire she had effortlessly built in the middle of the small open space that was their rest stop for the night. Dusk was rapidly approaching, and the sky was painted in a kaleidoscope of dark pastel colors. Gaara continued to move closer towards the fire when Sakura threw herself in his path, pink eyebrows knitted together and mouth slightly pursed in a gesture of feminine irritation.

"Answer me."

He stopped before her, and as he stared down at her much smaller form he decided that he had to award her points for her dogged tenacity. Then he wondered inwardly why he was allowing such impertinence from her and that made him frown.

She must have thought that the sudden look of annoyance on his face was due to her (surely no one in their right mind would dare command THE Sabaku no Gaara!) for she quickly lowered her eyes from his.

"Erm…I mean, _Kazakage-sama_…if you may, will you _kindly_ explain your actions?" Sakura tried to be demure, honestly she did, but the stilted way her words came out made it all the more obvious that she was gritting her teeth with impatience and of course Gaara was not buying any of it.

"Do not address me as Kazekage." He stated impassively instead. "You are no longer in the position to refer to me as such."

That sounded like a bad thing.

Sakura was so confused that she lifted her head again to stare at him. What exactly did he mean by that? All his mysterious talking about in riddles this entire day was causing her nothing but a huge headache.

"Okay…" Never one to realize when was the right time to continue pressing on and when was the time to stop the pink-haired kunoichi was determined to get to the bottom of the matter. "So how should I address you? And why am I no longer in the position to-"

He was steadily growing irritated with all her 'whys' and 'how comes', and he quickly cut her off before she could bombard him with more questions whose answers he did not wish for her to know just yet.

"For the moment, you may call me by my given name."

She _may_ call him?

Sakura was so flabbergasted by the Suna shinobi's arrogance that she almost sputtered with disbelief. Despite her exhaustion, emerald eyes sparkled with exasperation as the pink-haired female struggled with the overwhelming urge to open her mouth and ask him if that meant that '(pig-headed) demon' and '(obstinate) monster' were included on the list as well. Only the knowledge of a certain painful death by a lot of sand had managed to keep her mouth closed and her irritation at bay.

"And as for your other question, you should no longer address me as Kazekage for your role has now changed. You are no longer in the same league as those who would grovel and acknowledge my position for favors and such.

"You are now more than that."

Gaara sounded almost in physical pain when he literally forced the last sentence past his lips, but Sakura wasn't exactly celebrating her sudden elevation of status either. She was too befuddled to even notice the redhead's self-disgust.

"But…why?"

Gaara shot her a mildly disbelieving look that told her that he could not believe that she could have been anymore dense. Naturally, she had to prove him wrong, and continued giving him that wide-eyed look of utter puzzlement.

He growled to himself in frustration. Then before she could have a chance to protest he placed both hands on the curve of her shoulders and jerked her towards him. She barely had the time to squeak before he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers violently.

The kiss wasn't meant for pleasure, and the rough contact scraped her inner lip against her teeth almost painfully but still, _still_, it did not manage to mask that instant flare of attraction that ignited to life when he touched her.

Against her will, she melted against him immediately, and it was then that Sakura began to comprehend.

She _could not_ resist him at all, and it was a terrifying thought.

Just as quickly as he kissed her, he withdrew and stepped away quickly from her, his normally dispassionate jade gaze harsh.

"Did you feel that?" He asked her brusquely. Sakura could barely nod and it was all she could do not to touch her fingers to her lips in wonderment.

"You are the Shukaku's chosen. _You are my mate_. Can you understand that now?"

Still deep within the throes of shock, Sakura could only nod dumbly yet again.

"Good." Apparently it was enough for the Kazekage. He nodded at her curtly before retrieving a pair of freshly plucked apples from his satchel and pushing them onto her slack hands. "Appease your hunger and then rest. I won't be stopping unnecessarily tomorrow."

With that, he retreated to the darkest edge of the clearing, settled down fluidly against a tree, closed his eyes and appeared to all the world to have fallen asleep instantly.

Sakura could only stare at the blood red apples that she now held in her hands. Then she lifted her head slowly to look at the now still-figure of the powerful shinobi whose touch could literally send her into a lapse of bewildered awe.

And kami, she wasn't even going to think about when he kissed her.

Sakura tottered unsteadily to as near to the campfire as she dared to, and then sank down before it in a noisy thump of exhaustion. The apples rolled silently from her hands to rest beside her, and Sakura buried her hands in her face as the magnitude of what had happened finally sank in. She groaned inwardly.

What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

The next morning arrived quickly enough. Too quickly in fact, for Sakura.

Predictably, the Konoha kunoichi had not had the best sleep that night although her chakra level had certainly improved to a much normal standard by dawn. Sakura felt utterly, utterly wretched in her dirty clothes and scruffy, unwashed hair, not to mention the sudden tension she would feel whenever her eyes would land on Gaara accidentally. The Kazekage, on the other hand, looked as fresh as the day she had met him, and seemed hardly affected by this entire mess that he (yes, _he_) had landed her in.

The unfairness of it all made Sakura one very formidable grump.

It was really off putting that the only person to witness her in all her full glory was about as responsive to it as a block of wood.

After a quick breakfast and an equally quick cleanup both ninjas broke camp and continued towards Konohagakure. With Sakura now more or less able to travel faster, the two opted to make use of chakra to hasten their speed through the dense forest.

The pace that Gaara set was sadistically grueling, but Sakura would be damned if she complained about it. So gritting her teeth, Sakura pushed herself to keep up with the Suna shinobi while Inner Sakura urged her on with encouraging words and mental pom-poms. They only stopped once during mid-noon for a brief lunch, and by dusk they finally arrived at the imposing gates of Konohagakure.

Sakura was weary to the bone by then, and as the surprised gate patrol let her and the esteemed Kazekage through the village gates the medic-nin started to wonder what Gaara was going to do now that he had escorted her safely to Konoha as promised. Too exhausted to even feel awkward, Sakura turned slowly to the redhead beside her and was about to open her mouth to ask when she was rudely interrupted.

"Sakura-chan!!"

Sakura turned her head to the joyful yell just in time to see a bright orange bundle bearing towards her at an astounding speed, kicking up a whole storm of dust in the process. Her tired emerald eyes lit up immediately.

"Naruto…"

Uzumaki Naruto was one of Sakura's best friends, right next beside Yamanaka Ino. Insanely powerful yet startlingly outgoing, the loud and brash blonde was also slow to anger and quick to understand whatever problems that she might have. In other words, Naruto was about the best friend anyone could wish to have, only that she could never seem to cure him of addressing her by that embarrassing nickname. It was really a good thing that his girlfriend Hinata understood the depth of their friendship and had not felt threatened by it like Sakura had worried that she would.

Whatever it was, Sakura was only too glad to see Naruto especially after such a bewildering day. She was even prepared to suffer the bone-crushing hug that she was sure the tall blonde was about to bestow upon her when he drew up to them. Sakura braced herself for the impact even though she wasn't feeling all too well at the moment.

Naruto raced down the last leg of the street towards his friend whom he had not seen for a week. Not having noticed the Suna shinobi yet the Kyuubi-host was about to pull his pink-haired friend into an enthusiastic hug when-

He was rewarded for his efforts by a mouthful of sand and a sore butt.

Sakura stared disbelievingly at the tall wall of sand that kept her best friend away from her. Then she turned increasingly livid eyes to her unwanted companion.

"What are you doing?" Sakura hissed furiously at the dispassionate male standing beside her. "That's Naruto!!"

"My Shukaku does not like you near other men."

That was _not_ the answer she wanted to hear.

Gaara swore that her eyes spat emerald fire then.

Turning fully to face the taller male now, Sakura did not for once stop to worry about Gaara's fearsome reputation as one of the most dangerous ninjas in the world. Nor did she consider the possibility that he could hurt her very badly if he wanted to; she was that angry. The petite medic-nin stepped forward until she was nearly chest-to-chest with the redhead and glared mutinously into calm jade eyes.

"Look. I don't give a damn whether your pet raccoon don't like it if I greet my friends. _Put down that shield now_."

She was blatantly challenging his position and the Shukaku didn't like it one bit. So did he, for the matter. The sand Tanuki within him was growling for him to put their insolent female in her place. She may be their mate, but she needed to be shown who's the alpha in this relationship.

He did not do it though.

For Sakura was breathtaking in her fury.

Despite the fact that she was grimy from top to bottom and utterly exhausted from the insane trip back to Konoha, she literally glowed with a fierce inner energy that erupted to life the moment her friends were the slightest bit threatened. Her emerald eyes were bright with agitation and her stance was stiff and unrelenting, making it obvious that this was one fight that she would not back down from.

For someone who ought to be seriously intimidated by him, her fierce loyalty towards her friends impressed him. Besides…

That look of pure feminine obstinacy on her face aroused him beyond belief.

He held her stare quietly for a second longer than necessary, letting her know without words what he thought of her cheek before turning away to stare straight ahead, the shield of sand that had concealed their conversation from the rest of the world dropping away slowly as he did so.

Sakura was so surprised that Gaara had done exactly as she had asked that her anger faded somewhat. She started to frown with confusion.

"Gaara? What are you doing here with Sakura? And what the hell was that shield for? That hurts, you know!"

Naruto, having just picked himself up, finally realized that the male standing right beside Sakura was none other than the Shukaku-vessel himself. It was hard not to, seeing that the blonde had literally bounced off one of the Suna shinobi's specialty defense move less than a minute ago.

"Naruto." Gaara nodded to the Konoha ANBU but otherwise made no effort to answer the blonde's latter questions. Undaunted, Naruto quickly looked to Sakura for an answer, who quickly grabbed the opportunity for a quick getaway.

"Ask _him_." The pink-haired kunoichi rebutted quickly, still a little annoyed with the redhead. "I have no idea what is going on myself and I don't think I want to know either. I have to go to the Hokage Tower to report in to shishou, and since I probably stink to the high heavens and feel even worse than the dead I will talk to you later, after I am a little rested, ok, Naruto?"

Sakura darted over to her blonde friend and gave him a quick one-armed hug, not noticing the way Gaara's jade eyes seemed to cool at the sight. "Help me keep Gaara from following after me for awhile, please? I will explain later." Sakura whispered into the blonde's ear as she slowly backed away from him, quietly pleading with her eyes when Naruto's sapphire orbs eyed her questioningly. It took a split second before he nodded minutely, and Sakura stepped back and smiled gratefully.

"Ok, I am off to see shishou, see you later!" With a slight wave and a quick jump that immediately propelled her to the rooftops of Konoha, Sakura disappeared quickly in the direction of the Hokage Tower.

* * *

Both males watched the pink blur disappear into the distance.

Then Naruto turned back to Gaara, his normally cheerful blue eyes now sharp and astute.

"Why are you here, Gaara?" The Kyuubi-host asked seriously this time.

The Kazekage did not take his eyes off the rooftops for the longest moment. His excellent hearing had ensured that he had overheard Sakura's plea to be left alone and Naruto knew it. Gaara slowly turned towards the only person whom he had truly regarded as a friend. If Naruto found the small smile that graced the lips of the redhead unusual, he did not comment on it. Instead he waited patiently for the answer that he knew was to come.

"I have found my mate, Naruto, and I am here to guard her."

* * *

When Sakura arrived at the Hokage Tower, she was slightly out of breath and her leg muscles were screaming with fatigue.

Shizune smiled a greeting when she saw the young medic-nin. "Go on in, Sakura, she's waiting for you."

Sakura was too exhausted to even _want_ to know how Tsunade knew of her arrival, especially when she was a day or so ahead of schedule. The Hokage was just special that way. Sakura was only too grateful that she didn't have to wait her turn to see her teacher. The pink-haired kunoichi trudged into the Hokage's office straight away after throwing an exhausted smile at the assistant.

"Shishou!" Sakura did not look up as she started to withdraw the completed mission scroll from the small drawstring pouch that she carried with her at all times. "Here is the scroll-"

"Why is the Kazekage with you, Sakura?"

Sakura paused slightly before expelling a long sigh at the abrupt question. She wasn't even surprised that the Hokage had already heard of the news, and well, her shishou wasn't exactly one to beat around the bush after all.

The younger kunoichi laid the scroll gently on the desk and lifted her head to look at her Teacher. The blonde Godaime was leaning backwards on her chair with sandaled feet stacked neatly on the desk. Her posture might indicate one of relaxation, but her keen golden eyes were anything but. They pierced right into Sakura's, and too weary to even attempt to evade her questioning, Sakura spilled.

"I don't really know the whole thing." The pink-haired female answered truthfully. "And what I do know don't make much sense at all and appears to be so unbelievable that I think Gaara has got to be kidding me."

Tsunade's eyebrow rose at Sakura's familiar address of the powerful Kazekage.

"Then tell me what it is that you _do_ know, Sakura. We don't normally have one of the five Kage drop in on us for no reason whatsoever, you know." The Hokage asked dryly.

Sakura turned slightly pink at her Sensei's blatant probing for answers. How the heck was she supposed to tell her that the Sabaku no Gaara had apparently decided that she was his mate? She could not even imagine the Godaime's reaction to _that_. Sakura's eyes slipped shut as she tried desperately to think of a suitable answer that would hint (very vaguely) of the true situation and then pray hard that Tsunade-shishou would leave it as it was.

This was all her own fault. Why must she stop to offer help anyway?

Eyes still closed, Sakura frowned. No. This was not her fault. It was his! How dare he just jump on her and declare that she was his supposed mate like some uncivilized caveman? Yes, this was all Gaara's faul-

"Sakura, do you really have to take so long to answer that question?"

Emerald eyes flew open to see Tsunade looking pointedly at her. Slightly frantic, Sakura's mind raced for the prefect reply.

"Erm…It happened like this-"

Sakura was about to tell the Hokage the whole story with the more embarrassing parts omitted off, chiefly about how she had healed the poisoned Kazekage and he had decided to escort her back to Konoha out of gratitude when there was a huge commotion outside the Kage office.

"Sakura-chan is inside, isn't she? Let me in! I need to talk her!!"

Naruto.

Despite Shizune's continued protests, it took only a few seconds before the door to the office banged open noisily to reveal one purposeful Naruto on a quest for truth.

Sakura flinched inwardly.

If the noisy blonde was here…

Then that meant Gaara was too.

Heart heavy with dread, Sakura turned slowly to face the entrance just in time to see the gourd-carrying ninja a few feet behind a squawking Shizune and a determined Naruto. Their eyes met briefly and Sakura scowled when she thought that she detected faint traces of amusement in his otherwise impassive façade.

'_Of course he would be amused. Kami knows that I am.' _Inner Sakura spoke up then, her voice rich with laughter. _'Oh Sakura, are you really so dense that you still don't understand what he means? Even I know what is going to happen already.' _

Sakura bristled inwardly as she looked away from the Suna shinobi. 'I know what is going on! I just don't want to-'

"Sakura!" Naruto barked suddenly. "Is what Gaara said true? Are you really his mate?"

'-acknowledge it.'

Sakura wanted to dig a hole and disappear into it forever at the dead silence that immediately followed after Naruto's literally yelled questions. Even though she knew that the wish was futile, she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for the miracle to happen anyway.

As predicted, she didn't get what she wanted, of course. Instead, she got a warm masculine hand on the small of her back and emerald eyes flew open immediately. The gentle gesture was surprisingly comforting but the look on the person that the hand belonged to was not. Gaara's charcoal-rimmed jade eyes were hard and demanding.

"Sakura." It was the first time that she had heard him address her by name, and the soft half purr was strangely pleasing to her ears. She stared at him with slight bewilderment. "Answer."

It took all of Sakura's willpower to move away from Gaara's mesmerizing warmth, but move she did and she took the opportunity to study the reactions of everybody in the room. Her blonde friend appeared slightly disbelieving, Shizune looked utterly stunned by this new turn of events, and her Tsunade-shishou…

Shishou was smiling like Christmas had come early and somebody had just given her a huge crate of sake and a month long holiday from Hokage duty.

Sakura was instantly alarmed by that overly cheerful look. Frantic, she sought to explain the situation. "It's not like that, you are mistak-"

Sakura paused mid sentence when Gaara stilled impossibly, and his light green eyes froze up.

'_Why are you stopping?' _Inner Sakura piped up then. _'I thought that you were going to 'explain' your way out of this?'_

'Shut up.'

Inner Sakura smiled knowingly.

They both knew the reason why Sakura had stopped.

It was that look on his face.

It was unnatural for one to be able to switch to that blank, seemingly uncaring look that fast, and when Sakura thought of how he had probably had to manage that trick at a young age…

Damn her soft heart.

Damn it.

Sakura sighed.

"Yes." The Konoha medic-nin whispered softly at last. "Gaara thinks that his Shukaku has decided on me as his mate."

"You are wrong." It was Gaara, and Sakura lifted her head to stare at him with mild surprise. His face was still as implacable as ever, but there was a slightly uncomprehending look reflected in his eyes.

"Huh?" Sakura was, once again, as articulate as ever.

"You are wrong." Gaara repeated almost gently, his jade eyes focused solely on her as if they were the only two people in the room, his initial hesitancy fading away quickly as if it had never been there in the first place. "I _know_ that you are mine, and I am not going to let you go."

It would have been highly romantic if this was a different situation, but as it was, his resolute words only made her shiver with apprehension. Sakura did not know how to answer to his blatantly possessive statement, and luckily, it appeared that she did not need to.

"And you won't have to, Gaara. This is very good news." Tsunade announced suddenly, her clear voice startling everybody out of the stunned stillness that had developed not but a few minutes ago.

Gaara lifted his head from the fascinating female whom he had been staring at to look at his fellow Kage, impassive façade firmly in place. He had already predicted this reaction from Tsunade, so he wasn't very surprised by it, unlike his fellow demon-host.

"What?!" Naruto turned to stare at the Godaime. "No offense to Gaara, but how is this supposed to be good news? Sakura and Gaara barely even know each other, and besides they are both so different that throwing them together like this is like eating soup ramen with ketchup! It's weird, that's what!"

Sakura flushed slightly. Trust Naruto to use food as examples. Ramen and ketchup indeed. And speaking of food, the pink-haired kunoichi suddenly felt so hungry that her head started to spin a little. She blinked rapidly to try to dispel the slight dizziness but to no avail.

"No, it's not weird." Tsunade snapped immediately at the always-brash Kyuubi-vessel. Sakura started to weave but it was so slight that it was nearly unnoticeable. She closed her eyes to try to stop the room from spinning and did not notice Gaara eying her carefully.

Meanwhile Tsunade continued to speak, her voice filled with delight.

"Think about this; the mating bond of a tailed beast is damned near impossible to break, and furthermore this is an alliance between the Kazekage Gaara and our Sakura, who is among one of the most powerful medic-nin on the Konoha medical team."

Naruto's sapphire eyes widened at the implications. Shizune merely nodded her approval before slipping quietly out of the room to start preparing the mountain of paperwork that she knew would be needed if things went the way she predicted it would.

Sakura paled further and her eyes opened at her Sensei's words. The pink-haired kunoichi fought a wave of panic together with a most nausea-inducing sense of vertigo as she tried not to think too much of what the Hokage's words meant. She's joking, she has got to be joki-

"This will be a match made in heaven, and an inter-village marriage would definitely cement our bilateral ties with Suna for a long time to come." Tsunade beamed at everyone, as she very well should. Thanks to fate and opportunity, she had solved a major political pain-in-the-butt permanently and it wasn't even dinnertime yet. She could not wait to celebrate with a bottle of the highest grade of sake. "I trust that you will have no problems with this, Kazekage?"

Gaara had already expected that the Hokage would allow him access to Sakura; to intentionally deprive a tailed beast of its mate would definitely lead to disastrous consequences, and besides, a match like theirs was the easiest way out to maintaining the longstanding political treaty between the two villages. He just hadn't foreseen that the Hokage would so generously allow her most powerful student to be literally given to him like that.

Well, all the better for him.

Gaara nodded once.

Not for Sakura though.

"No!" The petite medic-nin yelled out suddenly, shaking her head to clear the powerful rush of blood to her head and the rapidly extending ring of darkness that was obscuring her vision. It was to no avail. "I don't want…"

She fainted.

* * *

He caught her before she hit the floor.

The Shukaku within paced cagily with anxiety at her sudden transition from wakefulness to unconsciousness, and upon a glimpse of her ashen face started to rage furiously at Gaara for having pushed her to a state of such exhaustion, all because of his perverse need to see how strong her determination could be.

Gaara did not need his Shukaku to tell him that he had made a mistake. Thanks to years of practice, he quickly shoved the screaming Tanuki demon to the recesses of his mind, allowing himself to concentrate fully on the female and her alarmingly fluctuating chakra. As he picked her up to rest fully in his arms, he quickly noticed how very light she was, and cursed himself inwardly for neglecting her health. She had probably been sorely depleted from her earlier mission even before she had met him, even before she had been kind enough to stop by to heal him, and all he had done to her in return so far was to wear her out even further than he had to.

Some wonderful mate he was turning out to be.

An unfamiliar feeling wormed its way to his gut and stayed there, making him feel most uncomfortable.

Guilt.

"Quick! Bring her here!" It was the Godaime, her face slightly worried as she regarded her beloved student. Her messy desk have been quickly cleared of scrolls and documents by a fast-thinking Naruto to act as a makeshift bed which Gaara immediately strode towards to lay his pink-haired burden on. As he surrendered her warmth to the desk, the primal instincts that had saved his life again and again urged him not to let her go, and instead to carry her off to somewhere private where he could guard her properly especially at a time when she was so weak and susceptible to threats. He snarled inwardly to dispel that almost animal instinct to protect and released her all the same, stepping backwards so that the Hokage could diagnose and heal her.

The Kazekage kept close watch as the older medic-nin quickly infused some of her chakra into her passed-out student, checking her various chakra points for any blockage as she did so. It took all of three minutes before Tsunade announced her diagnosis.

"She's just over-exhausted, Naruto. Quit making so much noise and let her rest in peace." The Hokage growled at the hyperventilating blonde who was still panicking around the unconscious form of his best friend.

"Rest in peace?!" Naruto blanched. "She's not going to die, is she?"

Tsunade wondered just how on earth someone as dense as Naruto could have made it into ANBU. "No, you imbecile." She rolled her eyes at the blonde now that she had done as much as she could to help Sakura. "It was just a figurative speech."

"Oh. So she's going to be okay, right?"

A long suffering sigh.

"Yes, Naruto. You can bother Sakura again after she is well rested."

"Ok." Naruto frowned at the petite form of the pink-haired kunoichi lying on the desk. "I am going to bring her back to her apartment. She will rest better there." The blonde started to reach for Sakura, but before he could gather his friend into his arms, Gaara beat him to the task.

"I will do it."

Naruto watched, slightly taken aback, as the infamous don't-touch-me Kazekage brushed an utmost gentle hand down the side of Sakura's mid-length pink tresses, before bending down to carry her in his arms. Both Naruto and Tsunade tried not to gape overly at the uncharacteristic display of almost-human emotions that played across the face of the Suna shinobi that split second. The Shukaku's influence on Gaara must have been pretty strong for the normally detached male to act so…_caring_.

Calm jade eyes met uncertain sapphire.

Naruto was still not sure how he felt about what was happening. He wasn't even sure how he felt seeing Gaara hold Sakura like that. Of course, he had long gotten over that childhood crush for his pink-haired friend, but still he could not help but always worry about Sakura. Although Sasuke's defection to Orochimaru those years ago had adversely affected everybody in some way or another, Naruto had always known that Sakura had taken the emotional blow a lot harder than most, no matter what her normally cheerful façade indicated. Sakura was just very good at hiding her emotions, he supposed.

But now, as he continued to stare at the sight of Sakura tucked safely in the protective embrace of one of the most powerful ninjas in existence, Naruto started to question himself if this turn of events might be a good one after all. Sakura had been alone for so long, always foiling the multiple attempts of a startling amount of shinobi wanting to date her, and Naruto sincerely wished that she wasn't still holding out for Sasuke's return. She deserved so much more than that.

Gaara was strong and steadfast, and Naruto decided that Sakura could use that in her life at the moment. Besides, Gaara might even stand to learn a lesson or two in humility from his best friend, as witnessed from the generous amount of head thumping that she doled out to him on an alarmingly frequent basis. In fact, they would probably complement each other very well once they got over the getting-to-know-each-other/wanting-to-kill-each-other part, which Naruto, in his usual spirit of over-bursting optimism, decided should be no problem at all for both his friends, conveniently choosing to forget that one happened to have a violent split personality whereas the other happened to be an unpredictable, psychotic mass murderer.

Yes, the more Naruto thought about it, the more the couple before him looked like the best match he had seen in…well, forever, barring his Hinata-chan and himself, of course. Hell, even their hair colors blend together (or clash horribly) if he squinted hard enough.

There and then, as Gaara waited patiently for Naruto to guide them both to Sakura's apartment, the Kyuubi-vessel suddenly nodded firmly at the redhead before grinning widely at him. Tsunade merely stared at the blonde briefly, wondering inwardly what was going through his head at the moment.

"Go, this discussion will be continued at a later date." Tsunade motioned for them to leave her office. "I will stop by to look in on Sakura this evening."

"Fine." Naruto started to walk out of the office after a brief wave to the busty Hokage, calling behind him as he walked through the doorway, the casually muttered sentence an obvious indication of his acceptance of this new situation.

"Come on, Gaara, let's get your mate home."

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Someone had asked this question before, but I forgot who (my apologies!); if the Shukaku needs a mate, then what about the Kyuubi?

Well, as we all know, the Shukaku is actually a Tanuki demon, a raccoon dog demon, to be exact. Not to be confused with the typical raccoons, raccoon dogs are monogamous by nature, which means that they take only a single mate for their entire lives. At least, that's according to the information found on Wikipedia. Therefore, I derived that it was possible for the Shukaku to have a mate in mind for its vessel, and only she would do for him.

Foxes, or red foxes like the Kyuubi, on the other hand, are not primarily monogamous. They were once considered to be so, but evidence has showed up recently that polygamy may be practiced among the extra-territorial foxes. That does not necessarily mean that Naruto would be polygamous by nature as well; just that the Kyuubi would probably care less who its vessel chooses to mate with.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5203

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 12/07/08

* * *

**Chapter Three**

* * *

When Sakura woke up again, she felt about as weak as a newborn baby and thrice as helpless.

Her head throbbed, her mouth felt as dry as cotton, her eyes felt grainy, and worse of all she stunk to the high heavens. Squinting around her surroundings a little, the pink-haired medic-nin quickly realized that she was safely ensconced on her own bed in her own apartment and was partially relieved for that. The events of what had happened earlier flashed across her mind like quicksilver and Sakura groaned loudly.

Judging by the state of her mental health, the pink-haired kunoichi really doubted that she had hallucinated up the whole Gaara-wants-me-as-mate-and-my-Hokage-is-agreeing-to-it-so-as-to-maintain-excellent-bilateral-relations thingy up.

Sakura groaned again.

"You are finally awake." Familiar cool hands touched her head and almost immediately, Sakura could feel the tight achy tension in her head dissolve to nothingness. The young medic-nin sighed gratefully before opening her eyes.

"Shishou."

The voluptuous Godaime was standing by the side of the bed, her arms crossed over her generous bosom as she looked down upon her reclining student. Sakura slowly got to a sitting position with the help of slightly shaky limbs. She winced inwardly at how weak she probably appeared to her Teacher.

"About time you woke up. You have been unconscious for two days." Tsunade mentioned as she passed the pink-haired kunoichi a glass of water.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly as she took a grateful sip of the thirst-quenching liquid. "I slept that long?" She sounded a little surprised herself. Tsunade nodded.

"Since the Kazekage refuses to say anything, I have no idea what the two of you had been doing out there, but your chakra level was so low it was a miracle that you had managed to stay conscious for as long as you did. What were you doing prior to returning to Konoha anyway?"

Somehow, telling shishou that she had spent a day literally playing extreme tag and then the next involved in competitive style running with Gaara did not seem right. Sakura merely shook her head as she slowly returned the glass to the bedside table.

"Trust me." Sakura muttered, her hoarse voice becoming more normal now that her throat had some moisture. "You don't want to know."

Tsunade cocked a blonde eyebrow and decided not to push the issue.

Instead, she dived into the next matter that she was here to talk about.

"Are you still pining after the Uchiha traitor?"

Sakura's mouth dropped open.

"Shishou! I-"

"Are you?" The Godaime probed mercilessly, her golden eyes straight and direct.

Sakura's mouth clicked shut. "No." The younger kunoichi answered at last, her emerald eyes slightly shadowed. "I would be a fool to be still doing that, won't I?"

There was a long silence as Tsunade judged her student's words carefully. Then she snorted softly.

"Then you are a fool after all, Sakura."

Sakura wanted to open her mouth to protest but was not given the chance. Tsunade extracted a scroll from under her robe and tossed it casually by the bed beside Sakura. She stared at it uncomprehendingly before turning up to look into unyielding golden eyes.

"Haruno Sakura, to attention."

It was the formal way of command and Sakura stiffened. She suddenly had an inkling of what the mission scroll was about.

"Shishou, please-"

"_Haruno Sakura, to attention_."

Sakura's shoulders slumped.

"Jounin-level medic-nin, Haruno Sakura, eternally at the service of the 5th Hokage and the Hidden Village of Konoha." She whispered softly.

Tsunade nodded regally at the younger woman before her, all business now.

"By direct order of the 5th Hokage, you will leave for the Hidden Village of Suna as soon as possible, upon which you will stay under the roof and protection of the 5th Kazekage for an indefinite period of time until you have accustomed yourself to the role of mate to the Fifth Generation Wind Shadow."

Sakura gaped with disbelief at her Teacher's orders. Then her emerald eyes lit up with suppressed anger.

"You can't do this t-"

"This assignment," Tsunade cut her off resolutely. "Is a special S-ranked mission which you are to accomplish _at all costs_. Failure is unacceptable, is that clear?"

Sakura's eyes closed for a brief moment.

They both knew that she had no choice in the matter.

For some reason Gaara _needed_ her, and he had all but made it clear that he would go after her if need be. It was true that Tsunade had stated this as a Jounin-level mission, but even Sakura knew that was just a political smokescreen. Gaara wants her as mate, and with his fearsome power as well as the increasing political might of his village, Konoha could not afford not to maintain a permanent alliance with Suna.

If only she didn't have to feel like some piece of meat to be bargained and haggled over in the process.

When Sakura opened her eyes again, the look within them was one of resignation.

"…yes, Hokage-sama. I will not disappoint."

The blonde Godaime nodded with satisfaction.

"Excellent." Tsunade looked down at her disciple with something akin to sadness in her golden eyes. Sakura hated it with a vehemence, because even she knew that the Hokage wasn't giving her that look of pity because of the impossible mission that lay ahead of her, but for something else entirely. It took all of her power not to look away from her teacher in shame, not to show how much that single look of sympathy had affected her.

Then Tsunade spoke again, her voice softened, became informal once more.

"Sakura. Now, I will ask you again; are you still pining after the Uchiha traitor?"

Sakura's eyes widened as she suddenly understood. She stared at her Sensei with something akin to pure shock on her face.

_This was the reason why…_

Sensei was showing her a way out. After so long, did she want to take it?

Yes.

It took a long minute, but Sakura's emerald eyes flickered to life gradually; became filled with the determination that she was becoming so well-known for.

"I don't want to anymore."

Tsunade's eyes glimmered with pride at the huge step that Sakura had just taken.

"Good."

* * *

He was standing by the window of her bedroom when she emerged from the bathroom, freshly showered and feeling ravenous.

Having seen Shishou out of the house a good hour ago, Sakura squeaked at the unexpected sight of Gaara in her bedroom. He was not carrying his gourd this time, and seemed to be staring thoughtfully out of the window to the streets below her apartment. She quickly clutched at the white fluffy towel that she had wrapped herself in as she quietly backed herself into the bathroom.

"You are still afraid of me."

Sakura stopped retreating.

"No, I'm not." She denied quickly, and then proceeded a few steps back out into her bedroom just to prove her point. She was still feeling the effects of her earlier conversation with Tsunade, but somehow the imposing presence of Gaara had been enough to distract her from her melancholy. She frowned slightly, the fires within her slowly flaring to life once more. "And get out of my room. You can't just come in and out of here as you please! I'm not decent!"

He turned then, and Sakura squawked with outrage as she all but tripped over herself to try to hide her body behind the door panel of the bathroom. "Get out of here! At least let me get dressed first and what are you- hey don't you- stop there!! Don't you dare come near me! _Gaara_!!"

"The Hokage have just informed me about your agreement to relocating to Suna." The Kazekage intoned emotionlessly. "Why?"

If anything, the reminder of what she had promised earlier flashed back to mind. Emerald eyes darkened with sadness, and did not go unnoticed.

"What do you mean, 'why'?" Sakura retorted softly then, the bitterness in her tone unmistakable. "It is not like I have a choice, do I?"

For the briefest of moment, something flashed across Gaara's eyes.

Disappointment.

Disappointment not in her unwillingness to join him, but disappointment in the way she seemed to have lost the will to fight so easily.

Sakura decided that she hated that look in his eyes even more than the one Tsunade had given to her earlier.

"Everyone has choices." Gaara said softly at last, his jade eyes cold and blank once more. "I see that you have made yours."

You were not supposed to get hurt by the words of someone you barely even knew, but that one sentence from Gaara felt like a vicious stab to her heart, accurate and deadly. Sakura's eyes watered, but she would be damned if she allowed any of those tears to fall before him.

"Tsunade told me earlier that the Shukaku would be more stable in my presence. That's why you need me, is it not? Isn't it enough that I have agreed to help you?" The pink-haired kunoichi asked instead, her voice husky from the effort of holding her tears at bay.

He looked flatly at her then, and did not even bother to conceal the look of self-disgust that he had directed at himself.

"You are a weakness that I do not _need_."

Sakura reared backwards as if she had been slapped hard, the door that she had been clutching on to slowly sliding open due to her loosened grip. His dispassionate words echoed hopelessly in her ears, the truth behind them something Sakura could not hide from no matter how hard she tried. Inner Sakura stayed silent throughout her pain, and that was the most obvious indicator of them all.

Even Gaara had said that she was weak, and did not want to rely on her because of that.

_You are weak, Sakura, You will always be weak. _

Sasuke was right.

She never could do anything right, always disappointing others, always relying on the strength of others to make up for her own lack.

Gaara would probably be better off without her.

Sakura bowed her head quickly, the wet strands of her pink hair obscuring her face like a curtain; it was the only thing she could do to prevent him from seeing the transparent droplets of grief that dripped down her face, the tears that she had been useless enough to prevent from leaking from her closed eyelids.

In front of her slightly hunched form, Gaara watched her cry, unmoving from his position despite his Shukaku's repeated urgings for him to do something, _anything_, to take away her distress.

He straightened eventually, when it appeared that she wasn't planning to stop soon. He started to turn away from the pathetic sight before him, and knew what he had to do next.

"It seems that I had been mistaken about the identity of my mate." The redhead stated with deadly calmness as he started to walk out of the bedroom. "I will inform the Hokage about this matter immediately."

He was inwardly surprised when he felt small hands grabbing onto his, and forcefully jerking him to a stop.

"No."

Intrigued, he turned slowly to regard the source of all his troubles once more only to be stunned by what he saw next.

She was probably in the most vulnerable state that no one save himself had ever seen her in, both physically and emotionally. The towel that she was clad in hung precariously on her thin frame as she sacrificed both hands to stop him, her emerald eyes were red-rimmed and wet with tears, she looked slightly haggard from the lack of rest and not enough nutrition, and all in all she looked totally wretched.

But it was the look in her eyes that made him stop in his tracks.

They were slowly flickering to life even as he watched.

It was dim, nearly non-existent at first, but then as she pulled herself to stand a little straighter and squared her shoulders, they started to blaze with a determination that took his breath away.

Just when he thought that she had shattered into a million pieces at his feet she had picked herself up with the grace and fortitude worthy of the fiercest of warriors.

_That_, caught his attention like nothing else could.

Emerald-eyed lioness.

'_I would never have chosen anyone less worthy of you_.' The Shukaku whispered then. '_Treat her well._'

Sakura stared at the tall redhead standing so stilly before her with the fiercest resolve in her drying emerald eyes. It was time to stop crying; for so long she had shed countless drops of tears but they had done nothing to improve her situation at all. It was time to sit up and do something about it. Inner Sakura cheered at the notion.

"I don't want to be weak anymore. Please teach me how to be strong."

* * *

He stared at her for the longest time

"Please." Sakura's voice trembled slightly when it seemed like he was going to deny her, then held strong. It was so obvious that she was trying desperately to control her emotions.

"Why?" He asked softly.

She stared at him in confusion.

"...why…what?"

"Why do you want to be strong?" He answered. "For power? For revenge?"

The look on Sakura's face was one of pure resolution.

"For myself." She regarded him quietly. "I don't want my friends to worry anymore. I have done that for far too long and I shouldn't have to depend on the people around me so much. I want to change that, and you can help me."

He appeared slightly amused by her candor, and unknowingly she relaxed at that slight gleam in his jade eyes. The worst was over.

"So you are using me now?"

Sakura lowered her head slightly in chagrin.

"I-"

Her stomach chose that moment to growl loudly, as if obnoxiously reminding her of her neglect of her own body.

Sakura froze, and started to turn red with embarrassment. Then as if she had just realized that she was still almost naked and had been standing around thusly speaking to a male whom she had been restraining with her hands in her very own bedroom, Sakura exclaimed softly in dismay as she dropped her hold on Gaara as if scalded to clutch her towel to her chest protectively.

Her look of mortification was so vastly amusing that he would have laughed at her if the situation wasn't so absurd. He merely arched an eyebrow instead.

"How long was it since you last ate?"

Sakura's embarrassment increased twofold.

"…three days ago."

The droll look on his face was quick to fade upon hearing her answer. He started to frown at her.

"Three days." He repeated slowly, as if wanting to confirm what he had just heard. "It was three days since you last ate?"

It was amazing how he could make her feel like some bubble-brained bimbo with that one sentence.

"It wasn't as if that I was starving myself intentionally." Sakura quickly retorted in a defensive manner. "I was fully planning on getting something to eat after I had bathed, but then you came and-"

The full implications of what she had said to Gaara finally hit home, and Sakura looked momentarily shell-shocked.

_I am really starting to let go of the past._

It must have been the shock of everything happening so quickly, for unexpectedly it hadn't felt as painful as she had thought it would be.

Maybe the healing process had started a long time ago, and it was only now that she had been forced to acknowledge it.

The worst _was_ already over.

Suddenly, she felt so much more confident of this unwanted situation that had thrust itself so abruptly into her life, and mouth quirked in a faint smile, Sakura jolted out of her thoughts to focus back on the tall form of her scowling problem.

Gaara's frown intensified. He failed to comprehend just how this kunoichi before him could still find the strength to smile at him after that highly emotional patch that she had just went through. He quickly came to the conclusion that she either suffered from extreme mood changes, or that she possessed one of the most unbelievable willpower that he had ever seen.

Judging by the way her emerald eyes still flickered minutely with barely concealed sadness, he was forced to assume that the latter was true.

Grudgingly, his opinion of her rose by yet another notch.

Gaara stared down at Sakura for a long time; brows knit slightly together, trying to figure out and not liking at all the feeling of utmost fascination that he was starting to develop for this startling bundle of contrasts who happened to be his mate. Haruno Sakura was supposed to be physically weak, but yet she was able to wield the inhuman strength that the Hokage had imparted to her with almost effortless grace. She was supposed to be riddled with emotional scars caused by the betrayal of her teammate those years ago, but yet she was slowly starting to overcome them with a determination that he now realized he had gravely underestimated in the first place.

Haruno Sakura did not fit in any of the categories that he had processed and filed away dutifully in all the twenty years that he had spent interacting and observing the behaviors of people, and just for that reason alone she had caught his attention in a way that no one else could.

It was dangerous, the way she had so easily harnessed his attention and not even know of it.

"…I'm very hungry now." Sakura spoke up then, distracting him from his thoughts. He continued to frown down at her with a perplexity she did not detect at all. The pink-haired kunoichi continued staring expectantly at him, as if waiting for him to do something. He wasn't telepathic though, and thus couldn't figure exactly what she wanted him to do, so he merely arched an eyebrow at her, watching as her bewitching emerald eyes start to fire up with annoyance once more.

Gaara had to admit that she was entertaining, if nothing else.

Was he completely dense or what?

Sakura ground her teeth together in impatience. Here she was trying her best to discreetly cue him to leave her bedroom but it was as if he was wholly immune to subtlety. It would take awhile, but Sakura was going to have to learn that Gaara took _everything_ at face value, not that it was his fault for learning thusly, for in his world there were only two kinds of people; those who want to kill him, and those who don't. It was pretty simple from his point of view, actually, to adopt such an outlook in life.

Not that it was helping Sakura much…

"Dear venerable 5th Kazekage-sama," The female medic-nin grated out irritably, her left eyelid starting to twitch something fierce. "The sooner you leave my room, the sooner I can _get dressed_ and _get fed_. Can you please gather your esteemed self out of my bedroom before I kick you out myself?"

His eyebrow rose higher, which accomplished nothing but to make Sakura crankier than ever.

He started to move towards her, and even in the semi-darkness of the bedroom, she could clearly see the dark amusement that in his jade eyes. Sakura stood her ground and refused to be unsettled by him again, too disgruntled to even care about her current state of semi-nakedness anymore. She narrowed her own emerald orbs at him, trying to intimidate him into stopping but to no avail. Yet again, Sakura was going to have to learn that no one intimidates Gaara; and that he goes wherever he pleases, whenever he pleases.

He finally came to a halt right before her, and she scowled up at him.

"Gaara..." She growled warningly, all traces of patience gone.

He cocked his head slightly at her.

"Yes?" He finally deigned to answer at last, his voice an indulgent masculine purr that made her scowl even harder.

"Have you heard what I just told you earlier?" Sakura bit her tongue to keep from acidly enquiring further if he suffered from selective hearing or if he was just obnoxious like that.

He inclined his head slowly, the slight glint of laughter that she had detected in his eyes still evident as he did so. She stared at him with exasperation.

"Is that so? I really can't help but notice that you are still here."

The corner of his lips quirked up—barely.

"You should speak to your mate with more respect, little lioness."

Sakura's eyes widened at the nickname that he had dared to give her. Then they narrowed with infuriation.

"_Future _mate." Sakura snapped irritably. "And don't call me that."

"What, little lioness?" The way his eyes darkened and that soft husky tone of his voice made her shiver for some unknown reason. "But you _are_ a little lioness, aren't you?"

Sakura blinked slowly at that. She wasn't sure how to respond to Gaara's almost teasing tone. She didn't even know if she liked this new development at all. Her confusion increased.

"Why do you insist on calling me that?"

He looked at her inscrutably.

"If you do not know why yet," The powerful shinobi spoke after a long, almost thoughtful pause. "Then I am not going to tell you."

She frowned.

"But you-"

"Get dressed." Gaara interrupted her inquisitive questionings as he turned to leave the room. "Then we shall go for dinner."

Sakura gawked at his confident and commanding tone. She wasn't in the mood to go out for dinner at all!! All she wanted to do was to raid her pantry for something to fill her tummy before retiring for the night, but no, in breezed the almighty Sabaku no Gaara who all but decreed for her to get dressed for dinner or else.

The 'or else' part hadn't been spoken literally of course, but the pink-haired kunoichi knew better than to think that Gaara would take himself off to bother someone else if she did not heed his little 'suggestion'.

With an irritated frown, Sakura stalked over to the bedroom door to give it a satisfactory slam behind the redhead's back and then locked it for good measure. Then she went to her cupboard and took out a pair of casual slacks and a comfortable turtleneck sweater.

Sakura put them on in record time, and then toweled her pink locks dry before pulling a brush haphazardly through them and proclaiming herself ready. The kunoichi simply wasn't in the mood to primp and Kazekage or not, Gaara was just going to have to put up with her current appearance if he was so desperate for her charming company.

Sakura briefly entertained the idea of remaining inside her room and making Gaara wait for as long as possible as some form of revenge for treating her so callously earlier, but she was equally quick to discard it due to the petty nature of her annoyance, not to mention how childish that particular act would have made her appear. Besides, the Kazekage wasn't exactly well known for his infinite patience; he was infamous for quite the opposite actually, and Sakura decided that she did not want to know nor had she the strength at the moment to go head on head with Gaara once again.

Sakura skulked out of her room a mere five minutes later, hands stuck in pockets and frowning at Gaara with irritation as she glimpsed sight of him lounging in her living room as if he owned it. The way he, an almost stranger, had barged so suddenly into her life should have made her feel extremely uncomfortable around him by all rights, but Gaara's sheer presence was just so strikingly _compelling_ that Sakura couldn't even find it within herself to act cautiously around him anymore. No, Sakura had finally realized that there was no timid tiptoeing around the powerful redhead if she wants to prevent him from trampling all over her feelings and pride in his usual mercilessly blunt and insensitive ways.

From Gaara's point of view however, if he could express an emotion openly he would probably be feeling quite pleased with his progress with Sakura thus far, for the pink-haired medic-nin might not know it yet, but the tall redhead had already breached her most primary form of defense; a female's most natural instinct to be wary of an unknown _and_ powerful male.

The more clinical and detached side of Gaara sneered at his mate for being so foolishly at ease around himself; someone she barely knew and for all purposes and intents possessed the deadly ability to hurt her very badly if he so chose to. However, the smaller but more primal part of him felt ridiculously smug over her disgruntled but genuine behavior towards him, for it indicated that her feminine intuition had trusted him enough to deem him no longer a threat, and without Sakura even knowing it, was starting to accept him more and more as a mate.

He did not know what to make of these strange conflicting emotions within him, and his brows started to knit together with his agitation.

And whenever Gaara gets confused, villages perish and people die.

"Well? Are we going to eat or are you planning to sit there and stare at me all day?"

Sakura's impertinent tone dragged him from his turbulent thoughts and he narrowed jade eyes imperceptibly at her. She did not notice, merely placed her hands on her hips in a universal gesture of impatience.

He growled inwardly.

As spirited as she was, Sakura could not be allowed to treat him with such disrespect. Not that he did not appreciate her feisty nature-

His little mate would just have to be taught that her sass would only be entertained…only on _certain_ circumstances…

Gaara stood up slowly; eyes glinting in a way that Sakura was beginning to realize meant that she was going to get into big trouble again. She looked at him warily, not understanding how he could turn from very annoyed (and she had been so sure that she had succeeded in driving him up the wall this time too!) to downright predatory.

Her knees went understandably weak when he started to stalk towards her.

Sakura did not know why, but something told her that the Gaara before her was much more dangerous than ever, and as it was her instincts were all but prodding at her to make a quick getaway. Inner Sakura was too busy enjoying the taut sexual tension in the air to make any comments, and emerald eyes darted not-so subtly to the entrance of her apartment, as if inwardly calculating how much time she would have to make her escape before he gave chase.

It was a futile thought though, for she had only to blink once, and suddenly he was standing right before her the next instance.

Shocked by his quick movement from halfway across the living room to standing in front of her, Sakura's first instinct was to jump back. Gaara managed to prevent that easily by wrapping a long-fingered hand around her slim wrist.

She gasped softly at the contact, and could only watch their joined hands dumbly as he pulled her closer to him than ever.

"What," He started deliberately, silkily, and Sakura started to flush when she felt the vibrations of his chest clearly thanks to the fact that she was now all but plastered against his lean form. "Have I told you about showing respect?"

Sakura stiffened at his almost-condescending question.

"I am not your pet dog." She tried her best to ignore her intimate position with Gaara, and instead focused her attention on glaring him to death.

To her surprise, he nodded his head slowly in agreement.

"No, you are not." He acquiesced amiably. "But I would still prefer for you to control yourself, for your current behavior is affecting me to some extent."

She stared at him with suspicion, and it wasn't unfounded.

"And how exactly am I affecting you?"

His charcoal-rimmed jade gaze darkened to a shade almost as intense as hers, and Sakura's heart began to thump frantically as the tension between them increased tenfold.

Inner Sakura tittered with excitement.

Not seeing the pointless need to talk in confusing riddles, Gaara was as usual, brutally blunt in his answer.

"Your defiance arouses me beyond belief." He stated shortly, looking down hungrily at her with no sign of embarrassment whatsoever. Sakura turned red. "Your fiery temper and apparent disregard of my authority makes me want to show you who's really in-charge—in the most primal manner."

It was only a couple of sentences, but the images that he had conjured up so effortlessly made Sakura's mouth go dry. She stared at him blankly with shock, but he was not done yet. Eyes quickly sharpening, Gaara continued.

"In other words," The redhead stated calmly, almost as if he had been doing nothing but discussing the weather with Sakura for the past minute. "This is my only warning to you, mate. You may continue your current behavior if you wish, all the better for me in fact, if you do not mind being roughly taken-"

"Stop. I know what you mean." Sakura's ears burned with utter mortification. She fixed her eyes on the buttons of his shirt and refused to look him in the eyes. Watching that exciting sexual hunger in his eyes just mere seconds ago had been enough to give her a cardiac arrest, and Sakura didn't want to risk it again.

"I will try to keep what you said in mind." Sakura mumbled to his shirt. "Please let got of me now."

A soft, rusty chuckle.

Sakura was so stunned by that sound that she lifted her head up to stare at him.

"Why should I?"

The kunoichi just knew that the look of dark amusement in his eyes was going to mean trouble for her.

"Why…should you?" Sakura stammered slightly, growing flustered by his intense scrutiny. "It…isn't proper…for you to be so close to me, that's why!"

Sakura was so pleased that her brain still managed to function properly that she almost wilted with relief.

It was really just too bad for her that Gaara already had an answer prepared for her.

"But it is all very proper, Sakura." The shinobi retorted softly, his low voice drawing her attention back onto himself.

"Huh?" Sakura murmured thickly, slightly bewildered by what was going on. She watched entranced, when his jade eyes gentled on the almost-docile look of confusion on her face.

"Because you are mine now, remember?" Gaara answered her question in an almost inaudible whisper that Sakura had to tiptoe to hear him. He bent his head down slowly as she reached up; stopping only when their noses were nary an inch apart and their breaths caught and intermingled with the other's.

Emerald locked with jade, unable to look away, unable to even blink.

"_You are mine now, my little lioness_."

And with that masculine claim, Gaara pulled her tightly against himself, and then sealed her lips with his.

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

The 'little lioness' moniker was something that I had come up with on a whim. It does fit Sakura to a certain extent. She is fiercely protective of her precious people, intelligent and strong, not to mention her willpower is nothing to sneeze at, either.

And besides, she has to be Gaara's 'emerald eyed lioness'. After all, 'emerald eyed raccoon' does not have nearly the same impact.

At least, not the kind I want.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5868

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 18/07/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Four

* * *

Sakura was stunned by the sudden feel of his lips against hers. Her mind went blank for one instant, and then was immediately flooded with so much sensations and feelings that she had trouble sorting through what was what. He smelled of freshly cut grass, and it filled her head and inundated her senses, and at that moment the only thing the pink-haired kunoichi could think of was the texture of his lips against hers, and how very well she fit inside his arms.

He was gentler this time, but only by his standards, and belatedly, Sakura realized she liked the way he hadn't treated her like some fragile porcelain doll that would shatter if handled roughly. The mutual attraction that they shared flared to life immediately.

Gaara growled low in his throat as he tasted the sweet flavor of her lips. Her scent of strawberries and sunshine tantalized his senses, and he pulled her even closer if possible, trying to get more of that special taste. The hand that had held her wrist captive moved to encircle the sweet indent of her waist, as if seeking to anchor her even more securely to him than ever. Sakura gasped breathily at the sudden feel of his arm wrapped snugly around her, and before she could do anything more he pulled her up towards him, forcing her on her tiptoes and eliciting a muffled squeal from her. Instinctively, she threw her arms around his neck to keep her balance and to her surprise; he let her, his hold on her tightening slightly as if to keep her in that position.

Gaara took advantage of her slightly parted lips and quickly slipped his tongue into her mouth. Sakura made a soft, indescribable sound at his intrusion and emerald eyes fluttered shut. _He was everywhere_. Tentatively, the pink-haired female opened her mouth wider at his sensual coaxing and her soft pink tongue darted out almost shyly to tease his lips, tracing them slowly in a seductive, yet startlingly innocent manner.

He groaned throatily at her ministrations.

It was so obvious that she was untutored in the art of passion, but dear kami, she had the ability to affect him like no one else had ever had, and he shuddered to think of how easily she could have brought him to his knees if she knew just how potent a hold she had over him.

For some reason, he hadn't minded that thought as vehemently as he would have at the start.

The powerful redhead tore his mouth from his little mate to pay homage to the soft skin of her neck, the graceful arch of smooth milky flesh just beckoning for him to have a taste. He ran his lips down the vulnerable curve of her throat, and then down even further to nip at her collarbone almost teasingly. The pink-haired female whimpered, and her fingers clutched convulsively at the soft red strands at the nape of his neck in reaction.

Sakura was sure that she was either in heaven—or hell.

The foreign sensations bombarding her senses were so wonderfully exciting and forbidden that they left her craving for more, so much more. She had never felt this way before, had never allowed any males to get as close to her as the way Gaara had. Utterly overwhelmed, it was all Sakura could do to hold on to him for dear life.

Then Inner Sakura said something that made Sakura's eyes pop open.

'_He's so intense, isn't he? Just like-_'

Sasuke.

Gaara knew the exact moment Sakura stiffened and withdrew completely from him, both emotionally and mentally. The arms that she had wound around his neck slipped down to his chest in an effort to separate herself from his embrace, and not liking the way she was avoiding him so suddenly he pulled his attention reluctantly from her strawberry-scented flesh to lift his head and look her in the eyes.

His jade eyes darkened at what he saw; her lips were swollen and well-kissed, her face flushed from his ardent attention, but her eyes…

The emerald orbs that he was beginning to form an obsession for were slightly dazed and burdened with a look of bewildered hurt that shouldn't have been there in the first place.

The Shukaku shifted subtly with agitation.

Sakura focused her upset gaze on his chest, and refused to look up at the redhead.

"Please…let go of me."

His jaw clenched at the painfully polite tone that she had adopted. Surely anyone who had not seen their intimate embrace would have thought that they were but strangers who had bumped into each other on the streets. The arm around her waist tightened slightly in response, as if in a silent demand for Sakura to explain herself, but still the pretty kunoichi pretended not to understand.

Gaara did not mind; he had all the time in the world and could wait for his pink-haired female for a long time in this position if need be. Once he claimed her officially as mate, she was going to be the most important female in his life and there was no way that he was going to allow any secrets to be kept between them. It was all very simple; she was expected to tell him all of her problems, and naturally it would be his role to solve them for her.

If only she would cooperate and tell him what was troubling that pretty little head of hers.

Sakura felt horrible. She shouldn't be feeling guilty about kissing Gaara but she did. Sasuke had occupied such a large portion of her affections for so long that she felt as if she was betraying his memory by being intimate with Gaara, which was utterly ridiculous because there had been nothing between herself and the Uchiha in the first place. Yet, she still felt as if she was replacing her ex-teammate with the Kazekage and that made her feel miserable.

"…I'm sorry." Sakura tried to extract herself from Gaara's grasp but the redhead was allowing no such thing. He tilted Sakura's chin so that she could look him in the eye, and his jade gaze probed her sad, emerald ones intently. It was obvious that she was upset about something, but she just wasn't ready to share it with him yet. It chafed slightly that she did not trust him enough but even he knew that some time would be required to pass before she would be fully at ease with him.

A delicate hand reached up to his face, and he watched imperceptibly as she laid her palm gently against his cheek. The action was tellingly tender, and at the same time, it told him that she was trying her best to accept him. Still, he did not know what to make of the sweet gesture from her. Then he looked into her beautiful eyes once more and saw the apology in those verdant depths.

"I'm sorry." She whispered again. "I just…need a little time."

He nodded.

"You are my mate." Gaara spoke at last, his voice quiet and low. "I will give you anything you want."

It wasn't a boast nor was it just an empty promise. It was a statement of fact, and Sakura was slightly overwhelmed by his generous concession. It quickly told her that he would respect her wishes and not force her to do anything she didn't want to do _when_ he could; after all, they both knew that everything that was happening now had occurred for his benefit. Her respect for him grew some more.

Sakura smiled; a small tilt of her slightly kiss-bruised lips that lit up her face once more. He was immediately mesmerized by her joy. She was very easy to please, it seemed, and he found that he liked being the reason behind her happiness.

"Thank you."

Once more, Gaara nodded, and then he slowly released his hold around her waist and stepped back. Sakura dropped her hand from his cheek and missed his warmth almost immediately. The pink-haired kunoichi started to frown over her newest revelation. She didn't have time to contemplate it for long though, for Gaara took hold of her hand in his larger one and started to lead her out of the apartment. She eyed him curiously, and could almost swear that she saw a quick glimmer of amusement in his jade eyes before they turned impassive once more.

"Dinner." He answered her unspoken question, and Sakura immediately pinkened. She had forgotten about that! He probably thinks that she was an airhead now!

"Ahahah…" Sakura tried to laugh it off. "I knew that…" she trailed off nervously.

The wry, sideways glance he shot her told her that he wasn't buying it, and she could not help herself; she burst into merry peals laughter at the thought of her current predicament. Not in a million years would she have imagined herself in this scenario, laughing unguardedly in the presence of the dangerous Kazekage but here she was, giggling like a schoolgirl and him watching her with a small contented look in his cat-like eyes. She had never seen Gaara like that before, and it warmed her heart. Her laughter ceased slowly and she smiled widely at him.

"You are right." Sakura admitted at last. "I was…distracted."

Then she proceeded to turn so adorably pink that he could not help but feel his own lips curl up in a slight smirk.

* * *

To her surprise, he brought her to Ichiraku. To her further delight, Naruto, Hinata, Ino and Shikamaru were there as well.

As expected, the hyperactive Kyuubi Jinchuuriki was the first to spot their arrival and his yell of greeting made sure that all the patrons of the famous ramen stall knew of it. It was also apparent that Gaara's formidable reputation exceeded him, it seems, for although some of the customers nervously stayed put after the Kazekage's entrance, the rest jumped up from their seats for a quick getaway. Sakura tried not to notice the fearful looks being shot their way as people hurried past them and she could not help but feel a surge of irritation at their bigoted way of thinking.

Demon host or not, Gaara was still human.

The pink-haired kunoichi wondered at his reaction to the villagers' fear of him. Had he gotten used to such terrified stares by now? Sakura felt a twinge of sympathy when she thought of how he had probably been subjected to those loathing, yet fearful stares since young. She stole a glance at Gaara as they made their way to the table where Naruto and the rest were.

His face was impassive as usual, his jade gaze ever watchful and…glimmering with mild amusement?

"You think that their fear of you is funny?" Sakura blurted out with mild disbelief before she could stop herself. Gaara looked at her.

"I no longer find pleasure in the terror of others." The redhead answered calmly. Sakura was immediately contrite. "However, it pleases me to know that they are smart enough to be wary of what I am capable of."

She approved of his answer.

Sakura smiled at him, pleased to know that he wasn't the bloodthirsty person that she had once thought him to be. It gave her hope. She was a little ashamed of herself for judging him without even getting to know him first, but she was now determined to remedy that mistake. She was also equally determined to make the best of what the Fates had thrown at her. She was going to try to make the best out of this situation; she had decided that she was going to put all her resolve into making this odd relationship with Gaara work.

"I'm glad." She whispered earnestly to him, her emerald gaze sincere and shining with something else he could not identify.

He stared at the face of her pleasure with a slight look of incomprehension and was inwardly thankful when the kunoichi's attention was no longer focused on him. He watched her greet her friends joyously; her vivid eyes alit with delight as the four Konoha ninjas welcomed her into their midst. He did not miss the slight looks of apprehension sent his way either, and if he was a lesser man he would have felt like a total stranger intruding upon a private reunion, which was not too far from the truth, actually.

Gaara quickly realized how important her friends were to her as he watched her bask under their attention, and he realized just how great a sacrifice she was making when she had agreed to relocate to Suna. As such the Shukaku Jinchuuriki decided that he would not interrupt her little gathering with her closest friends, and was fully prepared to stand aside this time to allow her precious time to interact with those closest to her. It was what he does best after all, remaining amongst the shadows of obscurity.

Sakura was not having any of it, however.

Whereas Gaara was perfectly content to stay behind to watch after her, the pink-haired kunoichi had no intention of letting him do anything like that. As if remembering that she was no longer alone, Sakura flew back immediately to the redhead's side, gracing him with a happy smile as she grabbed his hand in an extremely familiar fashion which he was disturbed to find that he did not mind at all. She proceeded to tug the surprised redhead along behind her, and then, as if their relationship was a genuine one and not at all forced upon her like it was, Sakura proudly introduced him to the important people in her life.

Gaara was bemused by her determination to make sure that he didn't feel left out, and although her considerations for his 'hurt' feelings wasn't needed, it was duly noted down. He was slowly learning that she was kind and very sensitive to others, and although that might be counted as a weakness to most, Gaara decided that he was very pleased with her unique traits.

Judging by the unsurprised look on the faces of the three ninjas at Sakura's announcement, the redhead felt that it was safe to assume that Naruto had already informed them about the news. Sakura looked a little put out by their slightly amused stares and even pouted shamelessly before her friends, and watching her being at such ease intrigued him. He had never seen her look like that before and it was…charming to say the least, not to mention entertaining. So this was how she behaved, when fully unguarded and feeling playful. Gaara immediately filed away the piece of information in his mind, in the rapidly expanding folder named singularly 'Sakura'.

Naruto must have caught the concentrated gaze that he had been directing upon his mate and the blonde smirked, sidling up to the redhead to nudge him, grinning his foxy grin and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively as he did so.

"She's really something, isn't she?" The blonde whispered cheerfully to his fellow demon host.

Gaara did not turn to look at Naruto; no, his eyes were fully centered on the pink-haired kunoichi currently interacting animatedly with her friends. Sakura must have sensed his perusal, for she lifted her head in the midst of an exchange with Ino to smile at him, lips gently curved and vivid eyes bright and happy.

The cozy scene sent a wave of warmth that flooded his chest; strange, foreign…but not entirely unwelcome.

Gaara fixed his jade stare on Naruto's, head inclining subtly in response to the blonde's question.

"Yes, she is."

* * *

All in all, everybody had a good time together, and conversation was lively. It was hard not to feel at ease with the Konoha ninjas; at least, it was hard not to feel at ease with Naruto around, at any rate. How the enthusiastic blonde could swallow buckets of ramen while being the heart of the party at the same time still remained an unsolved mystery to the Suna Kazekage.

The gathering was chaotic and yet closely cohesive. Everyone seemed to be talking at the same time and Gaara wondered how on earth they could seem to juggle so many conversations at one go. The ninjas interacted openly with their partners, to those besides them and to those across of them seemingly with ease, and it was hard not to be pulled into the always changing conversation.

Personally, Sakura thought that Gaara appeared a little bewildered by the people around him. She was seated beside him of course, actually not given the choice thanks to the fact that he had guided her to the side of the table adjacent to the wall before seating himself beside her and squeezing her up against said wall. Sakura had thought at first that he was trying to isolate her from her friends, but then the way he scanned the faces of each and every one of the patrons in Ichiraku warily told her that he was merely trying to guard her. She had been mildly offended that he was watching over her like she was a defenseless child, but a part of her was secretly thrilled by his protectiveness. And so Sakura had not said anything, merely went on to assure her friends that everything was alright.

Truth to be told, Naruto had already explained most of the important facts to the group already, and while she had been slightly disappointed that she hadn't been the one to tell her friends about the impending move to Suna, the pink-haired kunoichi was now grateful for her fox brother's interference. There were some animalistic traits of the Shukaku that even she herself did not fully understand yet and she was glad that Naruto was there to help assure their friends that she would not in any way be harmed or would she be at any time in danger from Gaara.

At first, her friends were wary; even Sakura could feel their hesitation, but the pink-haired kunoichi was determined to have her way, and before long, once they realized that Gaara had no intention of ruining the evening for Sakura that is, everyone started to relax and Gaara actually found himself enjoying a sub-serious debate on politics with the lackadaisical ANBU tactician Nara.

Everything flowed quite smoothly after that, Sakura was pleased to note, and the pleasant camaraderie among the friends lasted long after dinner was over. Then Ino, wanting to spend some quality girl time with Sakura before she left for Suna, had asked for her date of departure to the sand village.

Sakura, who had been mentally calculating the time which she would need to prepare for the move, immediately came up with her answer. At the same time, Gaara came up with his own estimate as well.

"A week, I think."

"We will be leaving tomorrow morning."

Ino's pretty blue eyes widened slightly at the vast difference in answer. It was obvious that the two of them had not come to an agreement about that yet. There was already trouble in paradise, and they haven't even gotten to paradise yet, so as to speak. The blonde exchanged a swift glance with her fiancé, who was giving her a 'look at what you have done now' look.

Sakura was eying Gaara with disbelief. Beside her, the redhead appeared totally unperturbed.

"What?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked at last, as if she didn't think she had heard correctly.

Gaara set down the cup of green tea that he had been nursing before he turned his impassive jade gaze to his mate. After seeing how much joy she took in the company of her friends, he had expected that she was going to be difficult about this. He wasn't wrong.

"We have to leave as soon as possible, Sakura." The hard tone the male used left no room for argument.

It was the truth that Sakura did not like to hear that at all. She frowned slightly at Gaara, her earlier good mood disappearing like a puff of smoke.

"And why must we do that?" The kunoichi demanded. Around them, her friends watched what must be their first public fallout with interest. It was like watching a car accident about to happen; you know that it's going to be bloody and that you shouldn't look but you just can't help yourself.

The stare Gaara gave her was quietly pointed. As much as he didn't want to make a scene in front of her friends, her outrage was not helping at all. As if to further give proof to his thoughts, the pink-haired kunoichi crossed her arms over her chest and shot him a mutinous look which he was starting to realize now was going to cost him a lot of unnecessary grief. Naruto appeared like he wanted to intervene then, probably to tell his best friend that it really wasn't such a good idea to challenge Gaara thusly, but a single look from the Shukaku Jinchuuriki dissuaded him immediately. This was to be settled only by the two of them, with no interferences from any outside sources allowed whatsoever.

"There are official matters to attend to in Suna." Gaara explained calmly to Sakura. "I have been away for longer than expected."

He never would have went to the trouble of explaining himself if she wasn't his mate, but as an important figure in his life now he owed her that at the very least. The redhead was mildly irritated that she was forcing him to stoop to such a level, but even he was starting to recognize the purely stubborn streak within her. It would be wise of him not to purposely provoke her fiery temper; it would certainly be simpler to gain her compliance rather than to force her hand and end up having to deal with an unhappy mate. He had enough things to take care of as it was and didn't need more problems on his plate.

Immediately, Sakura felt a twinge of guilt for thinking only about herself. He probably had his people to take care of, not to mention a mountain load of paperwork waiting for him back in Suna. However, Sakura was quick to find a solution to this problem.

"This can be easily solved." The kunoichi was quick to offer. "You can return first to your village, and I will join you a week later."

"No."

Somehow she wasn't very surprised by his curt answer. Sakura frowned again.

"Why not?" She asked. "It's a pretty logical solution."

Gaara shook his head at her. Once.

"It's not." The redhead answered her evenly. "I will not leave my mate unattended. Therefore you will have to come with me."

Sakura really did not like what she was hearing at all. The fiery female could feel her temper rising at the implications behind his words and it was all she could do to keep her emotions in check.

"Are you telling me that I will have to stick myself permanently to your side from henceforth?"

He merely looked into those vivid eyes of hers; all but shooting sparks of emerald fire at him as he did.

"It will be an honor to be seen by my side."

Long silence.

Okay. It's high time to vacate the premises now.

Naruto looked at the black flames of ire that erupted literally around his best friend and quickly came to that conclusion not a minute too early. Apparently Ino was having the same thought in her mind as well, if the way she jumped up from her seat was of any indication. Their significant others were slower to join them, though the urgency of the situation certainly wasn't lost on them at all. Hinata appeared slightly bemused over the electrifying chemistry between Sakura-chan and the Kazekage; she had certainly never seen the normally sweet-tempered medic get riled up this fast before. Shikamaru, on the other hand, was mildly amused by the entire proceedings. He put his bet on Gaara of course, though he couldn't help but feel sorry for the redhead. Sakura was bound to be a handful if she resembled anything like his own Ino.

"Hey guys…" Naruto laughed weakly as he looked nervously between his two friends currently locked in a fierce stalemate. "The both of you need to sort this out between yourselves, seriously."

Sakura immediately turned to her best friend, eyes flashing with growing indignation as she did so.

"Did you just hear what he said?" The kunoichi demanded of her best friend. Privately, Naruto thought that the whole of Konoha had heard her question judging by the way she roared it. "I can't believe that he actually thinks that—that I will be content to just stay by his side! Like I have no life or something! I am not a pet, I am not _his_ pet!!" The pink-haired kunoichi cried out passionately as she tried to appeal to her fox brother. "Say something, Naruto!"

The blonde really didn't want to be dragged into this domestic quarrel between two of his best friends, and the awkward way his blue eyes shifted to Gaara's apathetic façade told of his discomfort.

"Anou…Sakura," Naruto spoke softly at last, his voice low and uncharacteristically serious. "It would really be for the best if you go with Gaara."

Sakura didn't believe what she was hearing, and the stunned look in her eyes made Naruto's heart twinge slightly. But the truth was the truth, and Sakura had to know. "You are his mate now, Sakura. You have to go where he goes." The Kyuubi vessel continued with slight difficulty. Watching his childhood best friend sporting that bewilderedly betrayed look was harder than he thought, but Naruto held firm. This was her fate, and he knew what Gaara was trying to do, and privately agreed with his reason.

The redhead wasn't being deliberately cruel to force her away from her village at such short notice; no, it was the other way around. Gaara was trying to make her transition from Konoha to Suna as easy for Sakura as possible. Even Naruto knew that the longer she stayed here, the harder it was going to be for her when it was finally time to leave. Naruto would rather that she departed from Konoha in a fine fit of temper than heartbroken and in tears.

Shikamaru quickly caught on too, and he silently nodded his agreement, much to his fiancée's confusion. Ino trusted Shikamaru's judgment though, and for the moment she decided to go with him. Besides, it wasn't going to do Sakura any good to go against Gaara at all, and she didn't want her friend hurt, accidentally or no.

"It's alright, forehead." Ino murmured as sympathetically as she could, shooting her best friend a rueful glance as she did so. "I can visit you in Suna when you are settled there."

The god awful ache in Sakura's chest blossomed. Why was it that her friends suddenly seemed so eager to foist her over to Gaara? Didn't they want to spend more time with her? For all she knew this might just be the last chance she would get to interact freely with them, so why were they acting as if she was Gaara's property now?

But in a way, that was truth, was it not?

_She was Gaara's now. _

Sakura's expressive emerald eyes clouded over with hurt. The need to know why they were rejecting her now and literally throwing her to the wolf was so great that it was all she could do not to yell her accusations at her friends. She was about to do so too, but a careful look at Naruto stopped her. The sapphire gaze of her fox brother's was darkened and pained…and not unlike hers actually.

Sakura forced down her blind hurt and forced herself to think rationally. She was soon glad that she did, and was quickly appalled by what she had almost done. What was she thinking to achieve with her wild and angry accusations? Naruto probably had his reasons for asking her to leave, and besides, this was an official mission! She wasn't supposed to be allowed to choose a damn thing in the first place; how could she have forgotten and went and acted so unprofessionally?

Sakura was immediately contrite. She should put some faith in her friends, and she would.

Gaara watched with outward coolness as Sakura's turbulent gaze slowly calmed down. She lowered her gaze to the table for a moment, but he did not miss the flash of sadness in her vivid emerald eyes.

"You are right, of course."

Her voice was a little husky, but the scenario hadn't ended in tears and anger like the redhead had earlier predicted. He could feel the weight of her grief covering her like a heavy blanket though, and he was immediately proud that she had managed to control her emotions despite everything. She was indeed worthy of him, and he vowed quietly that she would be fiercely protected and well cherished under his care.

Sakura lifted her head then, and to the surprise of her friends, there was no look of betrayed anger waiting for them, nor was there the pain of grief. Sakura even managed to flash a shaky smile, seeing in the gazes of all of them their worry for her. The kunoichi was touched, and felt a little selfish for trying to cling on to their sympathies like a petulant child.

She wondered what Gaara thought of her now, and immediately pushed away the thought. She would deal with the Kazekage later; right now was reserved for her friends here, there would be more than ample time for her to deal with her mate at a later date. Sakura's eyes gleamed with the growing strength in her emotions. She was determined not to worry her friends any more; wasn't that why she had wanted Gaara to help her in the first place?

God, her heart was aching so fierce, but she knew what she had to do.

Her weak smile steadied; became warmer.

"Well, seeing that I'm leaving for Konoha tomorrow, you guys have better be prepared to sit here to accompany me till dawn."

* * *

She was purposely avoiding his gaze and he did not like it one bit.

They had left the gates of Konoha for almost half the day already and she had been…broken, to say the least. Oh, she had smiled and waved and acted like she would be alright when her family, friends and teachers had came to see her off, but the moment Konoha disappeared from view she seemed to have withdrawn completely into herself, her brilliant emerald orbs painfully blank and her movements almost mechanical and doll-like.

He was concerned, though the remote look on his face would never have indicated anything like that.

Out of respect for her wellbeing, they were traveling at a more sedate speed than he was used to and she had followed dutifully not far behind, not making any effort to speak to him at all nor did she even ask for a break until he signaled for them to stop for lunch. He spent the time observing her keenly, more than a little worried now when she made no effort to acknowledge his blatant stare. This wasn't the lively, fiery-tempered kunoichi he had come to know, and he did not like seeing her like this at all.

Gaara knew that she was feeling upset about the abrupt departure from her home village, but he had not expected for her to close herself off from the world. From him. She was part of his family now, she was supposed to turn to him for comfort, but as it was, she was doing the exact opposite. It was tantamount to a rejection in terms of physical language, and although Gaara knew that she was not fully aware of the consequences of her own actions, it didn't change the fact that she was driving him on an edge.

Before the redhead could ponder about his upset any longer, he started to move across the clearing to where Sakura was currently perched listlessly on a rock.

She lifted lackluster eyes to meet his, and his jaw clenched slightly at that look on her face.

"Get up."

A flicker of annoyance glanced across the emerald depths at his imperious command. For a moment, Sakura did not look as if she was planning to obey, but at last, she got to her feet slowly, carefully brushing away from her clothes the leftover crumbs of the sandwich that she had eaten for lunch.

Watching the cool look in her eyes was like staring into a mirror, and Gaara decided that he absolutely abhorred that expression on her.

"Mate. You will cease your little tantrum right now."

Blunt as usual, Gaara was anything but sympathetic. But maybe that was what Sakura needed to drag herself out of her misery right now. Almost immediately, the flare of anger ignited within her eyes, and the redhead was pleased to see the fire within her come to life once more.

"Tantrum?" Sakura hissed, totally furious at the redhead looking down at her emotionlessly. How dare he?! "I am not throwing a tantrum. In case you did not understand what was going on, I just left my hometown for an indefinite period of time! I am allowed to grieve, damn it!"

"Then grieve. Do not hide your emotions from me."

Sakura was so shocked by his reply that she did not know what to say. She stared at him uncomprehendingly with huge, dark eyes. Before Sakura could string together a proper retort, Gaara reached out for her wordlessly, gruffly pulling the surprised kunoichi into the circle of his embrace and holding her simply against him. The feel of his warmth surrounding her felt so comforting and it was almost too much. Sakura felt her rigid stance relax against her will, her shoulders slumping with pitiful upset. She closed her eyes, and slowly, hesitantly lifted her own arms to wrap them around his waist.

Tears filled the emerald orbs; threatened to leak from her closed eyelids. Her small frame shook with emotion against his, and Gaara sighed. It was becoming obvious to him that she needed more than his physical proximity; she needed his assurances as well.

"Never hide from me again." The low, silky timbre of the redhead vibrated comfortingly around her. She was dismayed when she heard herself sniffle. "You are my mate now and I will protect you in everyway I can." His large hand rubbed absentminded circles against the small of her back. "In time, you will understand my reason, Sakura. Until then, can I ask you to trust me?"

It was hard not to react to his quiet sincerity. Sakura found herself nodding silently against his chest.

Her ready faith in him humbled him. His hold on her tightened—slightly.

"You won't regret this, I promise." He was fervent in his vow.

Sakura felt hope blossom in her chest for the first time since leaving Konoha. She wasn't alone anymore.

"I know."

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5408

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 18/07/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Five

* * *

Sunagakure had changed a lot since the last time Sakura had visited it. That had been almost five years ago, when Team Kakashi and Team Guy had came to the rescue of Gaara, fighting against the Akatsuki members Deidara and Sasori and in the end saving the life of the 5th Kazekage.

Things had been a large blur after the powerful redhead had been revived and safely returned to his ruling village, and since then Sakura had never had the chance to visit the Hidden Village of the Sand again, what with her crazy training schedules as well as her overwhelming hospital duties. Even after when she had been promoted to Jounin level, she had not been lucky enough to be sent on joint missions with the Suna shinobi. No, she had been mostly involved with the lands on the eastern side of Konoha and therefore had not had the chance to see Suna until now.

The kunoichi was somehow glad that she had not visited this place for five years; surely if she had she would definitely not have appreciated the changes as much as she did now. Whereas Suna had been breathtaking the last time she had seen it; it was magnificent now. The spectacular yet deadly piece of desert land that surrounded the village had remained unchanged much to Sakura's pleasure, and the modest village had expanded considerably since she had last seen it. It was no wonder that shishou was so adamant on ensuring that ties with Suna remained reasonably intact. Under Gaara's lead, the once humble village was flourishing, slowly but surely increasing in wealth and influence among the five great countries.

From what she had learnt from her sources, the 5th Kazekage had taken a completely different approach compared to what his predecessor had done. Whereas Gaara's father had hoped to gain back the favor of their Daimyo by destroying Konoha (and failing miserably while he was at it), Gaara had one upped his sire. Upon seeing all the misery and suffering dealt to his village thanks to the whims of one Daimyo, the redhead had resolutely made a vow that Suna would depend on nobody but themselves for their living and that would start the very moment he took office as Kazekage. It had been a scandalous decision that had caused quite the uproar within the village's councilmen and advisors, but Gaara's will had won out in the end and Suna began its first step towards independence.

Since the Daimyo had began to outsource his requests to other countries, the 5th Kazekage did not see any wrong to extend the village's services to Daimyos in other lands as well, not to mention other lords and officials who might require Suna's specialties, as well as to the wealthy and the influential. It made perfect sense of course; if Suna's Daimyo did not provide enough budgets for his village, then naturally it would be the village's prerogative to earn what they need to survive. The first couple of years had been hard for the village to get by, but Gaara, together with the support of his siblings as well as his small fleet of extremely skilled teams of ninjas, had managed to push through. With ties to Konoha and the Leaf Village's support, they were able to focus more on the business and monetary aspects of running a country.

Kankuro and Temari had been set up as ambassadors for their country, and the two of them often traveled to places and lands far and wide to set up stations and agencies advertising their services. The first of such firms had shaken the world; never had there been a village that had done something like that before and most had been skeptical of its success. But then again, most had not possessed the incredible foresight of the 5th Kazekage, and although he remained grounded to Suna most of the time, the redhead made sure to immerse himself in political activities happening around the world, and to keep an ear to the ground for any unusual occurrences. His quiet vigilance paid off very well; especially when he started to amass quite some favors from famous political figures to others from all walks of life, all thanks to the fact that each and every one of his patrons had been helped or rescued once or more times by his people, who had merely been there 'at the right moment'.

It had also helped a lot that the ninjas of Suna were rapidly gaining a reputation for their professional, mercenary ethics. Since they were no longer strictly bound to their Daimyo and forced to report the intimate details of each and every mission to the ruling lord or face the consequence of his displeasure (as well as the subsequent cut in budget), they were a lot more discreet compared to shinobi of other countries and that was an invaluable trait to many who did not want their deeds to be discovered—ever. Because of the fact that the Suna ninjas were much lesser in numbers, they quickly learned to be very competitive in their line of business; completing their missions faster, cleaning up perfectly and leaving no traces that would lead back to their country and even performing their assignments satisfactorily with markedly lesser manpower, and those had helped boost the growing reputation of Suna—and had brought income flowing back again into the once devastated village.

By the end of two years, Suna's achievements were startling. The revenue that the shinobi had generated overseas had far exceeded the meager pittance that their own Daimyo had allotted them, and with this new indication of independence, the powerful warlord that the village had once depended so much upon had been reduced to nothing more than a figurehead, much to the satisfaction of the Kazekage himself.

With their reputation with the outside world firmly established and rapidly growing, Gaara's next step had been to look inwards. The village had barely limped by during the first two years of his rule, and that had been because all the efforts of the village had been poured outwards, and now with a steady income, it was time to improve Sunagakure. Taking a lesson from Konoha, the hospital and medical benefits of the people had been the first to be upgraded and reviewed, and although the Suna hospital was still not as advanced as Konoha's and might never be, it was nonetheless improving slowly and no longer as backwards and as ignorant as it once was. The Ninja school and Academy had been the next to get a revamp. Gaara had correctly identified that Suna's manpower was its most valuable asset, and it was imperative that he continued to make sure that their quality would not alter for anything but the better.

And so the world watched as the Hidden Village of the Sand got back onto its feet and continued on surviving, and by then, Gaara's councilmen were more than happy to take over the task of watching over the slowly flourishing village, freeing up Gaara for his travels to lands far and wide, more often than not taking a small team of officials with him as he did so. As the Kazekage spent his time fostering political relations with ruling Kage and Daimyos around the world, his officials spent their time observing the systems and the different methods of organization within each country, taking down notes and incorporating the more worthy practices into Suna whenever they returned to their home village.

Another two years passed, and the village grew even more, slowly expanding as the village's economy improved and people started to move into the once shunned village. Suna's Ninja school was quickly gaining reputation as one of the best establishments in the world and producing the highest passing rate with respect to the numbers of students entering the exams, and with the slowly increasing amount of efficient ninjas, Gaara was starting to undertake the task of designing a proper defense for the village that would complement the naturally deadly and desolate desert that that they had made their home in.

Those who had once slammed the 5th Kazekage for running his country like a mercenary organization not unlike the Akatsuki were finally made to eat back their words when the redhead poured all the money earned by his ninjas back into this thriving village, and those who had once predicted that Suna would descend into chaos and bedlam in Gaara's lead had no choice but to quietly slink off to a corner as Suna grew in leaps and bounds even today.

It was no wonder that shishou wanted strong ties with Suna, actually. Gaara was truly an exceptional leader and it would not do at all to get on his bad side.

And now, as both she and Gaara stepped into view of Suna's gates, it was all Sakura could do not to gasp in awe of all the changes that this impassive male walking beside her had single handedly made. Even the walls around the village parameters had been rebuilt; no longer a simple barrier that could not even keep out a wandering goat, but now so tall and imposing it rivaled that of Konoha's. Armed sentries guarded not only the gates but the entire village from multiple watch posts spaced accordingly from as far as the eye can see, and Sakura's eyes gleamed with approval.

She turned her gaze to the redhead and smiled at him.

"You have a beautiful village, Gaara." Sakura told him sincerely.

Gaara acknowledged her heartfelt praise with a slight incline of his head. "I had help." The jade-eyed male was surprisingly modest. That was a quite refreshing change from the arrogant man whom she had been in constant contact with the past few days. Sakura's smile widened into a small grin.

"That's true." The pink-haired kunoichi agreed. "But from what I have heard all these new changes wouldn't be possible without your foresight and fortitude."

Gaara turned to the woman beside him. The genuine look in her emerald eyes told him that she really meant what she said, and as ridiculous as it was, her praise made him quite pleased. The Kazekage gifted his mate with a small, almost imperceptible smile and guided her towards the village gates. Sakura was so disconcerted by his smile that she tagged along beside him unconsciously.

"Gaara?"

He motioned for her to speak.

"Er…" Sakura had been thinking of this problem ever since they had left from Konoha a week ago. She had found a solution easily, of course, but she had almost forgotten to discuss it with him until now. "What are you going to tell your people about…us?"

The look in his eyes told her that he thought her simple in the head for asking such a ridiculous question, but she pretended not to get his meaning, her own emerald orbs demanding for him to answer her.

"You will be known as my mate, of course." He decided to humor her.

He was surprised when Sakura shook her head at him.

"I really don't think that's a good idea." She told him. Sakura lowered her head to look upon the ground. "You were right about my being weak. If word gets out that I'm your mate, people will try to use me to get to you. I think that it would be better if no one knows about my true relationship with you."

Because her gaze was still directed upon the ground, the pink-haired kunoichi did not see the way Gaara stiffen and immediately direct his intense jade gaze on hers. Completely oblivious to the rising agitation of the Kazekage, Sakura continued speaking.

"I have given this quite some thought," She confided to the sandy ground. "And I think that no one would be any wiser about us if you just let me join the Suna hospital as a consultant medic-nin. What do you think?"

"I think that you have a knack for coming up with the stupidest ideas." Gaara's growl of annoyance had Sakura lifting her pink head to stare at him, and emerald eyes widened when she took in his irritated jade gaze. It didn't take a genius to decipher that he was feeling very offended by her words, though Sakura really had no idea what she had said that set him off this time. The bewildered look on her face must have told him of her incomprehension, for he abandoned walking altogether in favor of frowning down ferociously at her.

"…what?" Sakura quickly blurted out when he took a step towards her.

"Do you doubt my ability to protect what's mine?"

Sakura's squawk of outrage over his possessive statement was totally ignored by him. "I don't-"

If anything his countenance became colder, haughtier. "So it's because you don't want to be known as mine. Do you find it an embarrassment to be known as mate to the Shukaku Jinchuuriki?"

His agitation washed over her like a wave of ice water. Sakura could only gape at his outlandish accusations. Where did that come from? Then she looked into his eyes and saw that he really believed what he said, and she felt oddly heavy in the heart just from his furious look.

"That's not true!" The pink-haired kunoichi recovered quickly from her shock and snapped back at him, starting to get angry as well. He sounded so cold and contemptuous that she was actually somewhat hurt by him. "I was trying to help ease your burden, and all you could think of was yourself! You are a Kazekage, not to mention a Shukaku Jinchuuriki; do you have any idea how dangerous that combination is? Has it ever occurred to you that your enemies could use me to get to you? I was trying to protect you, you idiot!"

On a roll now, Sakura plowed on, totally missing the look of astonishment that softened his fierce gaze.

"And so I present to you my completely feasible solution and what did you do? Instead of agreeing with me and even thanking me for my thoughtfulness you unleash your temper on me and all but bite my head off! You know what? This is that last time I am going to try to help you, you egoistic…brat!" Sakura stomped her foot to emphasize his childish behavior and backed away angrily from him. "In fact, you and your over inflated pride can both go to where the sun doesn't shine for all I care!"

Emerald eyes flashing with indignation, her glorious pink hair flew in a wide graceful arc as she turned around and started to stride stiffly in the direction of the gates of Suna, muttering indignities under her breath as she did so. She was so vocal in her displeasure that Gaara was sure that all his guards had heard her screaming at him from a mile away. Then it quickly occurred to the redhead that she was walking rapidly away from him and that would not do. With a soft growl rumbling from his chest, Gaara immediately started after his errant mate.

Sakura was so angry that she wanted to cry. His accusations hurt, especially when she had really intended only to help prevent more burdens from being saddled upon him when she knew that he was already swamped enough as it was as a busy Kazekage. She couldn't believe the words that came out from his mouth when he said that she was ashamed of him. Ashamed of him for what? He was the infamous Kazekage who had all but single-handedly rescued his village from ruin, and he was _the_ all powerful Shukaku Jinchuuriki! If there was anyone who should be feeling ashamed of this relationship, it should be him! He, who had found himself mated to some random nobody who only happened to know a nifty trick or two about healing and had bright pink hair too, on top of all that!

Sakura thought of his distrustful attitude towards her and the hurt resurfaced again. Then she thought of how he was probably conditioned from young to behave this way and suddenly the inconsequential matter of her wounded feelings was pushed aside to be filled with a much larger dose of anger. She was suddenly feeling so angry at all those people who had dared hurt him that her shoulders shook slightly and she looked quite disgruntled.

Gaara thought that she was crying again, and for the life of him looking at the silhouette of her trembling form made him feel like strangling something. He had known that first time she cried that his Shukaku didn't like it at all, but now that he thought her in tears again and armed with the specific knowledge that he was the one causing her upset this time made him realize that he, too, disliked the notion that she might be crying. The fact that his Shukaku was giving him hell and screeching and causing havoc in his head wasn't making things any better, and she looked so very small and lonely and fragile that something tightened within his chest.

The tall redhead lengthened his strides and rapidly closed the remaining distance between himself and his mate, and quickly snagged her wrist, turning her around.

Sakura was not happy at all when she felt his fingers curled loosely around her wrist. "Let go of me. I am not in the mood to talk to you at all." The kunoichi snapped in an aggravated manner, brows furrowed together in a frown. "If you want to pick a fight you are going to have to wait until- _ummmph_!!"

The pink-haired kunoichi quickly found her protests ended abruptly when she was face planted against the hard, chiseled chest of the 5th Kazekage. Sakura felt him push her head into the crook his shoulder and start to rub her back in a slightly awkward manner not unlike that time in the forest when he was trying to comfort her about leaving Konoha. Sakura wrinkled her nose as she inhaled his sweet, grassy scent. Was this his way of apologizing to her?

"You don't have to protect me, Sakura." His gruff words confirmed her thoughts. He was apologizing to her!! Suddenly it was all the pink-haired kunoichi could do not to go into shock at the odd situation. Everything else aside, he was really horrible at saying sorry. It was a good thing that she was the quite-forgiving type.

Sakura emitted a soft snort as she turned her head to the side. "You are not a god no matter how…godly you think you are, Gaara. Of course you need to be protected as well. I will do my best."

She thought that she was acting reasonable and that her explanation made perfect sense. He thought that she was somewhat delusional.

He appreciated her good intentions though, and was starting to realize that he had been wrong about her. She was astoundingly softhearted and tender, and now that he realized her true nature, he wasn't exactly sure how to deal with her.

"Clearly you are mistaken." Gaara told her. "Aren't I supposed to be the one to protect you, my mate?"

"I'm not useless." She grumbled, and then lifted her head to glare at him. He was rather surprised to see no traces of tears on her face. He hid it quite well, though.

"No, you are not." He agreed. She looked so surprised by his admission that he became amused by the look on her face. Then Gaara amended his words. "I don't possess weak things."

Sakura glared at him.

"I'm my own person, thank you very much!"

Gaara shook his head at her.

"No. You are mine."

Then he bent down his head and kissed her hard, only releasing her succulent, mouthwatering lips when he sensed his guards' arrival. It was a good thing that Sakura was still a little dazed by the suddenness of his kiss to take exception to her current position against him. Gaara's eyes darkened with satisfaction at the soft, wondering look in her eyes before turning his attention to his people, impassive façade firmly in place and woman tucked nicely beside him, making no mistake to whom this kunoichi belonged to.

His guards took a little longer to recover, and were still gaping at the unbelievable picture of their Kazekage's possessive covetousness of a female. Up till now, the redhead's sexual orientation had always been much fodder for gossip among the villagers but it was apparent now that the Sabaku no Gaara didn't 'swing that way' like some had maliciously believed.

The one and only councilman who were with the guards was the first to snap out of this surreal trance.

"Gaara-sama. Welcome back to Suna." The elderly man was clearly curious about the pink-haired girl whom the Kazekage had so openly showed his affection to, and the way his eyes kept darting to look at the female indicated clearly of his blatant curiosity.

Sakura, too, was quickly recovering from the shock of being kissed by Gaara again, and when she heard the greeting from his people, it slowly occurred to her that she was still comfortably ensconced in the arms of the powerful redhead. She stiffened and broke out of the haze that she was sure he had purposely weaved around her. She didn't believe for a second that he wasn't aware of the arrival of his ninjas when he had decided to kiss her! This was embarrassing not only to her but to his guards as well, who were all at the moment trying their best to look at anywhere but at her. At least Temari and Kankuro were not here too, if not Sakura really didn't think that she would be able to live it down. The pink-haired kunoichi tried as discreetly as possible to wriggle her way out of Gaara's firm grasp, but was forced to abort her intentions when his arm refused to budge from her waist.

She glared at him. Just what the hell was he trying to proof?

The damned man had the gall to smile at her.

The guards' jaws dropped as one. Even the councilman did a double take. Sakura didn't notice Gaara's men going into shock though. She was busy trying to convey her murderous thoughts of him through her eyes.

"Anou, Gaara-sama. The lady beside you…" The councilman trailed off meaningfully. Really, the poor man didn't know what to think. Their Kazekage's methods of doing things were always so unorthodox that he wasn't quite sure what the sight before him meant. Was this pink-haired female from Konoha a potential bride? Or something else entirely? The councilman gave himself a mental pat on the back for leaving his question trailing in the air for his leader to answer. Had he not done so and made a wrong guess, he was quite sure that his end wouldn't be pretty judging by the redhead's obvious affection towards the kunoichi.

Gaara could see the confusion in their eyes, not to mention the fact that his ninjas were trying their best not to jump to any conclusions. He decided to put his people out of their misery. Unfortunately, Sakura was one step ahead of him.

"Ah. I am Haruno Sakura from Konoha." Since she could not bow properly thanks to the fact that a certain redhead had all but stuck himself to her, she inclined her head shyly at the bewildered elder.

"Haruno Sakura?" The man frowned slightly as he tried to pinpoint exactly where he had heard that familiar name. Then it came to him at last and his eyes widened. He was suddenly very thankful that he had not opened his mouth to blurt out the question of whether or not if she was the Kazekage's lover. It would have been disastrous. "The famous apprentice of the Godaime Hokage?"

Sakura nodded in answer. She was quite surprised that they knew of her. "Yes, I am Tsunade-sama's disciple. I am a Jounin-level medic-nin, and I have come to share my knowledge with the Suna hospital."

It was obvious that Sakura was still quite determined to pretend that Gaara had not fixedly wrapped his arm around her waist and that the action had all but screamed of his personal involvement with her. It was really too bad for her that Gaara was not planning to do the same thing.

"You forgot to include something, Sakura."

The pink-haired kunoichi really didn't care for his silky tone. Oh, she was not stupid, and judging by the look in his jade eyes, she knew that he was not very happy with what she was trying to do. She frowned at him all the same. Can't he see that he was being stupid?!

"Oh? I did?" She asked him as politely as you please. He nodded at her, and she tried to hold on to her temper. Her eyelid twitched something fierce as she smiled at him, and the rest watched the interaction between the daring kunoichi and their deadly Kazekage in an almost mesmerized manner.

"Oh. Right. I know now what I have missed." Sakura pretended to realize her folly, much to Gaara's inward amusement. "Please forgive me for not remembering something as basic as this." Thus said, and kunoichi inclined her head again to the small group of Suna ninjas, reciting the normal phrase of courtesy when one is put in a new environment. "I will be troubling all of you from now on; please take good care of me, everyone!"

Bound by courtesy, the rest of the guards as well as the elderly councilman immediately bobbed their heads and muttered the required words of politesse back to her. Sakura smiled smugly at the redhead.

Gaara suddenly felt like throttling the exasperating woman. He scowled at her, and she shrugged daintily back at him, tossing him a feisty 'what are you going to do about it' look. If it didn't arouse him that much he really would have strangled her for being so disrespectful towards him before his men. As such, the Kazekage merely looked away, and at the same time he released his hold on her.

He would let her win. For now.

Gaara closed the distance between himself and his ninjas, leaving Sakura to trail behind him. Fully intent on business now and every inch the Kazekage, he turned to his councilman.

"Ketaro," The redhead spoke quietly to his advisor. "was everything in order during my absence?"

The old man nodded his head. "Yes and no, Gaara-sama." The group proceeded to walk towards the village gates, and Sakura was contented to tag along, listening half-heartedly to the conversation as she did so. "You have been gone for more than a month, and a lot of paperwork had been piled up in your office. Most of them are not very important, for Temari-sama had approved most of the urgent paperwork for you already. Also, the village council would like to set up a meeting with you regarding the…"

Sakura started to tune out the conversation that the two men in front of her were having, and instead chose to fix her attention upon the infrastructures of Suna rising before her like a lost city. It was nearing dusk, and the sun was a fiery orange and hung low in the sky. The backdrop against Suna was so magnificent that Sakura was immediately enchanted. It was hot as hell here of course, but at the moment, the pink-haired kunoichi was willing to forgo her discomfort in favor of the beautiful scenery before her. Suna might be a desolate country, but it sure possessed one of the most breathtaking landscapes that she had the fortune to see.

So engrossed was she trying to imprint the beautiful image in the back of her mind that she wasn't aware that she had slowed down her pace, and it was only when she readjusted her uncomfortably heavy backpack against her shoulder that she realized she was now walking among Gaara's guards.

"Haruno-sama, please let me help take your belongings." For a moment, Sakura had to wonder who the hell Haruno-sama was, and then she turned her head to the side and saw a shinobi somewhere around her age looking at her with bright blue eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you talking to me?" She asked.

He looked slightly amused by her confusion and nodded. "Can I help relieve your burden, Haruno-sama?" He asked again, his low, smooth tone tinted with slightly concealed laughter.

Sakura looked closely at the shinobi and could not help but feel a liking towards him. He was exuding a playful, almost happy aura even when his line of occupation required for him to be somber and stoic. He reminded her of dear, dear Naruto, and Sakura could not help but feel a wave of nostalgia overwhelm her.

She nodded and surrendered her bag to the taller male. The bag had contained all the necessities that she would need immediately when she moved to Suna; Ino and the rest back at Konoha would pack and ship over the rest of her things at a later date.

"I would appreciate your help, and please, you do not need to address me so formally. Just plain Sakura would do."

They reacted as if she had just ordered the shinobi to kiss her in front of Gaara.

Suddenly, the guards around them went so still that Sakura did not know what to make of it. The shinobi with the cheerful blue eyes looked at her with something akin to scandalized surprise and Sakura frowned.

"Is there a problem?" She asked him.

Another guard answered the question for him when he took too long to answer. This one had been standing on her other side and had dark brown hair and grey eyes.

"Begging your pardon, Haruno-sama, but we are not allowed to address the…guests of the Kazekage-sama so familiarly."

Sakura was about to open her mouth to assure them that she wouldn't mind at allwhen Gaara interrupted her. She didn't even know that the redhead had been observing her keenly the moment he had felt her lag behind him.

"Yes, Sakura." The redhead agreed fully as he monopolized her entire attention to himself again. "They are taught to treat all my guests with great respect. Now come up here and quit flirting with my guards."

Sakura immediately turned bright red at his insinuation. Then she glared hard at Gaara, who was standing almost twenty feet in front of her, looking back at her with irritated jade eyes. Even Ketaro was turning around to look at the kunoichi and Sakura felt her embarrassment increase twofold. Beside her, the guards stood at attention, expressionless and alert once more.

Sakura stalked towards the bane of her existence.

"What are you trying to imply?" The pink-haired kunoichi demanded when she reached Gaara's side. He looked at her coolly.

"I imply nothing but the truth."

Oh, Sakura was now so mad that she almost saw stars.

"I was not flirting!"

He looked at her passionate display of temper, and wondered idly if her feisty nature carried over to certain…bed activities as well. Then he pushed the thought away when she looked mad enough to spit.

"I know."

Sakura was so surprised by his admission that she gaped at him. She recovered admirably though.

"Then why did you go and say something like that?" She cried out. "People will take it the wrong way!"

He shrugged at her.

"You overreacted-"

"Damn right I did!"

"-and it's the fastest way to get you up here by my side."

Sakura scowled ferociously at Gaara's answer. That sneaky snake! He was so underhanded! "Why would you want me by your side for?"

He looked at her with a detached expression on his face, but Sakura could not miss the amusement hidden deep within those jade eyes.

"So that I can properly introduce you to Ketaro."

Then before Sakura could wonder what he meant, Gaara grabbed her by the hand and pulled her close, his gaze turning to his incredulous councilman when she was tucked snugly by his side once more. Then he opened his mouth, and in a couple of sentence, he cheerfully blew her dubious cover sky-high.

"Ketaro, she is the true reason why I was delayed. Meet my mate, Haruno Sakura."

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 6349

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 18/07/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Six

* * *

Sakura was not a happy camper.

The kunoichi glared at the insufferable redhead beside her. Gaara did not appear to react to her fuming stare. He continued to look at his advisor.

"She is the Shukaku's chosen." Gaara continued firmly despite Sakura's loud gasp of displeasure. "Spread the news. Let it be known to all that any disrespect or offense towards her would be a direct insult to myself."

Ketaro was surprised by this sudden turn of events, to say the least. Then the elder widened his eyes slightly as the implications of his Kazekage's match made itself known to him. Ketaro started to smile. This kunoichi was the Hokage's favored. The peace treaty between the two countries would be permanently secured now.

Immediately, the elderly male bowed deeply towards a taken aback Sakura and an impassive Gaara. "The Shukaku has chosen well, Kazekage-sama." The old man murmured as he straightened to his slightly stooped form. "Rest assured that all within Suna would hear of this joyous news by the end of today."

Sakura started to open her mouth to say something but a look from Gaara halted it. Well aware that nothing she said now would alter the impact of his declaration; the pink-haired kunoichi admitted defeat. She closed her mouth and went back to her previous occupation of glaring him to death.

Gaara was hardly bothered by her indignation. The redhead nodded to his delighted councilman.

"See that it is done."

* * *

Sakura was pretty much left to her own devices the moment Gaara and his welcoming committee entered the village. It became rapidly obvious to her that there were a lot of matters that required his attention when she quickly found herself separated from him by an increasing number of eager aides all clamoring for their Kazekage's attention. His lengthy absence from Suna must have caused his workload to pile up considerably, and Sakura understood his obligations to his duties, and didn't really mind being shoved aside by his people.

Besides, she was still a tad annoyed with him for being so overbearing and going ahead to announce to all about her 'mate' status despite all her warnings and precautions. It was really a foolhardy thing to do, and no matter how formidable he thought he was, she was equally sure that this was going to bring them a lot of trouble in the end. She really didn't understand what he was thinking at all.

Standing aside from the group of busy advisors each being patiently attended to by the Kazekage, Sakura was once again treated to yet another side of the increasingly complicated redhead. She watched as he assured his followers with a quiet confidence that she was beginning to associate with him and didn't even lose his volatile temper around his people when they got too demanding and pushy with regards to the topics that they were discussing about. Her annoyance with him faded somewhat to be replaced by reluctant admiration as she continued watching his interaction with the aides. If nothing else, Sakura had to admit that he really was an amazing leader.

He, who appeared deeply immersed in the many concerns of his advisors, suddenly appeared to remember her presence. Gaara shifted his attention from the small group of aides surrounding him and pinpointed her almost immediately. His jade eyes met hers, and for the life of her she could not do anything but stare back at him.

He quickly decided that the petty concerns of his eager followers could wait for another five minutes, and without another reply to his people, he pushed past them easily and made his way to the pink-haired kunoichi currently holding his attention. The bewildered throng of people moved out of the way for their Kazekage as he brushed past them and strode to a stop before his mate. Sakura had to tilt her head up a little to look him in the eye, and she did so unflinchingly, appearing totally unbothered by the redhead's stare. His followers were starting to notice the strangeness of the entire situation, and it was all Ketaro could do to keep their queries at bay.

Whereas Sakura saw an impressive display of leadership and confidence from the handsome redhead, all Gaara saw of his mate was her apparent exhaustion from the week's travel, not to mention the fact that she was woefully unprepared to deal with the harsh climate here. Her Konoha attire revealed entirely too much skin for the unforgiving, relentless sun that beat down upon Suna almost throughout the year and he took one look at her slightly flushed face and knew immediately that she was going to suffer a bad case of sunburn the next day. She also looked slightly dehydrated and he worried that she might be in danger of suffering a heat stroke.

"You will rest to allow your body to recuperate from the journey." Gaara spoke at last. His no nonsense tone told all that he expected to be heeded immediately, and before Sakura could reply to that, the two guards who had stuck closely by Sakura the entire while immediately nodded their acquiescence of their lord's explicit order. Now that it was obvious to them that the kunoichi was soon to become their Kazekage's Lady, it was imperative to them that her protection and her every need would be seen to. Her safety was just as important as that of their lord's now, maybe even more so because she was definitely not as powerful as their fearsome leader.

"Rest assured, Gaara-sama, that the wellbeing of Haruno-sama would be duly taken care of." The ninja on the left, the one with the brunette hair and the somber grey eyes actively undertook the important duty of looking after their pink-haired mistress.

Sakura wasn't feeling nearly as subservient and respectful.

Her brows drew together immediately. She really wanted to open her mouth to demand to him not to treat her like a useless child in dire need of protection but the fact that his aides and advisors were now looking at the both of them curbed her immediate reaction. Because of his position as Kazekage, it would not do for her to show him disrespect before his own people. That didn't mean she was just going to passively allow him to dictate her every move from now onwards though. Sakura kept her mouth firmly shut now, and her face tranquil but the irritated look in her eyes told him that he was definitely going to get an earful from her when she could finally get him alone later.

Strangely enough, the fact that she was so defiant and unafraid of him pleased him very much, so much so that he lifted a hand to stroke her cheek with slender, slightly callused fingers. To say that the village's councilmen were surprised by the open gesture was an understatement. Sakura, unfortunately, belonged to that same category. The pink-haired kunoichi did not know what to make of his sudden affection. The moment was quick to pass though, and before she could make head or tail of the situation he had lowered his hand and was looking as expressionless as ever. Sakura decided then that she would never understand him.

"I will see you later, my mate." Gaara spoke, his tone brisk and impassive. Sakura didn't even react to the surprised gasps and murmurs that rippled through the crowd around them this time, and neither did the redhead who was the source of all her aggravation. Sensing no choice but to heed him this time, she nodded reluctantly. Sakura promised herself to give a long talk to the redhead later about making her decisions for her and immediately felt a lot better.

Satisfied with her ready agreement Gaara shifted his cool jade gaze to his two ninjas next. "Guard her with your lives, men."

Both shinobi pledged their promise to do so to their Kazekage immediately and requested for Sakura to follow them. The kunoichi agreed and started to trail behind them after one last glance at Gaara. He watched the retreating forms of her small entourage until they disappeared around a corner.

"Kazekage-sama?" One of his aides ventured forth cautiously then. "A mate?"

The redhead turned his attention back to his council members and nodded imperceptibly. The confirmation had another aide asking another question.

"Will there be a wedding?"

Gaara paused at the query.

He hadn't given much thought about his mated situation other than to get Sakura back to Suna and to have her well protected and taken care of at all times. But now that this question was posed to him, Gaara found it rather ridiculous that someone had even asked. It wasn't compulsory for him to marry Sakura of course; marriage was a human custom that the Shukaku within him didn't comprehend at all. After all, a mating bond was more lasting than any marriage vow would ever be. Gaara was about to open his mouth to answer the aide when common sense nudged at him. It would be morally unacceptable for Sakura to mate him without a proper wedding ceremony, and hadn't Temari mentioned something about how the entire affair was extremely important to females in general?

Privately, Gaara thought the entire notion a little over done. He didn't know if Sakura felt the same way, but if she did not he would have no choice but to concede to her request. She had sacrificed a lot for him, and as such he would be willing to accommodate her if only to get everything done and over with so that he could focus more on his duties as a Kazekage and less on mating her.

Gaara nodded a positive response to answer the question and watched as the members of his council explode with sounds of approval. God only knew how often they had been pressing the emotionally distant Kazekage to take up a relationship or even a betrothal to 'ground' him better to his responsibilities but the redhead had always brushed aside their concerns over his private life or lack thereof. Most of his advisors were quite advanced in age and only the knowledge that they were trying to do what they thought was best for him and the village prevented him from snapping at the old biddies with their old fashioned ideas and way of thinking.

At least, now he had killed two birds with one stone, Gaara thought as he calmly accepted their eager congratulations and started to move with them in tow to the small cluster of governing buildings where his offices were, maybe even three. After all, he had found his mate, formed a permanent political alliance with Konoha and gotten his meddling councilmen off his back, if only for the moment.

It was an accomplishment of sorts, the redhead decided, and he had only Sakura to thank for it.

* * *

By the end of the day, said female in question was more than ready to sink into bed and sleep like the dead.

After her separation from Gaara at the village gates, the two ninjas had been guarded and very alert as they escorted her further into the thriving village and to the residential section of Suna, and as she knew that they were taking their jobs very seriously, she did not try to speak to them in case they got distracted by her. The pink-haired kunoichi had been perfectly content to look around her surroundings in silence, quietly noting the difference between the streets of Konoha and Suna as they hurriedly whisked her to the safety of Gaara's private residence.

As she had already expected, the Kazekage's living quarters was one of the most extravagant properties in Suna. It wasn't that Gaara was self-indulgent and had a weakness for material comforts; no, Sakura was well aware of the fact that the council members of each of the five Kage seemed to always be in an eternal pissing contest with each other, and since said members of the village committee were responsible for looking after their Kage's needs while the Kage provided for the village in return, it soon became some sort of a 'friendly' competition to see which of the five countries could provide their Kage with the best accommodation. Sakura knew firsthand because she had heard more often than not shishou's loud complaints as she railed irritably at the 'morons' to quit changing the layout of her house because she kept getting hopelessly lost within it.

It had been amusing to the kunoichi to hear her teacher yelling at her advisors thusly, and as she inspected the sprawling two-storey behemoth of a mansion that belonged to Gaara, she wondered idly if he had done the same thing as well.

The two guards had only let her into the house after they had ascertained that there were no threats hidden within it ready to spring upon her, and Sakura had allowed them to do so even when she had wanted to assure them that she was very capable of taking care of herself. The fact that they were only following orders kept her mouth closed and her impatience at bay. She was introduced next to the servants who took care of the household. She had became even more uncomfortable when they bowed deeply to her upon learning of her status as Gaara's mate and had been relieved when she was finally guided to a room of her own to unpack as well as to freshen up, with both her guards in tow, of course.

The bedroom was large and airy, and occupied by a massive bed sitting right in the center complete with other furniture like an intricately designed dresser as well as a low sofa that was thoughtfully placed against the large bay windows. It was surprisingly homey despite the mildly masculine interior and Sakura was absolutely delighted with her new room. She unpacked her meager belongings quickly and even had enough time to hop into the attached bathroom for a cooling shower right before dinner.

Gaara wouldn't be able to join her; the guards had informed her when they accompanied her down to the dining room and Sakura had expected as much. His habits probably didn't deviate much from that of shishou's, and her teacher always had to spend a lot of time dealing with paperwork as well as the concerns of her advisors whenever she returned to Konoha after a long absence. The kunoichi almost pitied Gaara.

And so Sakura sat alone at the large dining table and it was at her insistence that her guards shared dinner with her. She had also finally gotten around to learning their names sometime during the period as they ate their meals.

The one who possessed cheerful blue eyes and tinted blue hair and had helped carry her belongings earlier was known as Asuka whereas his more serious counterpart with the grey eyes and the brunette hair was named Shun. After awhile, she managed to find out that they both belonged to the exclusively organized task force created by the council members meant solely for the protection of the Kazekage. Sakura had learnt from a quite chatty Asuka that the small squad consisting of only three elite teams of Jounin-level ninjas had been formed only quite recently, five years ago in fact, right after the Akatsuki's near deadly attack on Gaara and it became apparent to all just how vulnerable a position their Kazekage was in, being the Shukaku Jinchuuriki and all.

The information had disturbed Sakura somewhat, and had amazed her as well. She really couldn't imagine Gaara allowing a passel of bodyguards hovering around him like anxious mother hens though, and she had remarked her thoughts to both guards as they sat through dinner with her. At her insistent prodding, Shun finally admitted reluctantly that their Kazekage wasn't always the easiest person to work for and Asuka took the opportunity to add candidly that they probably would not be dealing much with the Kazekage in the future.

That, was when Sakura learned that there was a great possibility that both Asuka and Shun would soon be dedicating most of their time looking after her. Sakura thought that they were joking, but when it became obvious that they were not, the pink-haired kunoichi immediately demanded for the both of them to go look after Gaara instead. Shun had appeared mildly flabbergasted as Sakura started to list reasons why Gaara would need the protection more than she ever would whereas Asuka merely grinned at her and said nothing. By the end of dinner, Sakura was dismayed to realize that the both of them had probably allowed her naggings to go in one ear and out the other.

By then, she had been too exhausted to go for another round of persuasion, and the pull of sleep was so strong that she gave up for the moment. With a mental note to take up her cause with them after she was well rested again, Sakura trudged back upstairs, trailed behind by her two shadows and after whispering a goodnight to the both of them, she retreated into her bedroom.

Washing up for bed didn't take very long for her to do, and dressed in her favorite set of pajamas, Sakura was about to hop into the inviting spread of pillows and comforter that was her bed when Gaara walked in unceremoniously.

Sakura had been so surprised by the powerful redhead's appearance, but before she could recover and demand for him to get out, Gaara stalked past her into the bathroom without even sparing her a glance. Sakura did not know what to make of it, and when she heard the shower running, she became even more confused. This house was so big; why did he have to use her bathroom to bathe in, of all places?

With an irritated huff, she climbed into bed and fluffed her pillows, leaning against the mahogany headboard as she waited for him to come out of the toilet. Gaara didn't take long to shower, but Sakura was nearly asleep by the time he emerged from the entrance of the toilet/walk-in wardrobe, dressed only in a pair of low-rise drawstring pants and nothing else. He was toweling his wet, spiky hair casually as he moved over to the dresser and it was all the pink-haired kunoichi could do to keep her jaw from hitting the ground in shock.

Sakura had never seen Gaara half naked before, but she really wasn't very surprised to see that he was leanly muscled and that his taut torso was sculpted and sleek. He was oddly pale despite the harsh desert sun that she was sure he was always exposed to and when she realized that she was staring, the flushed kunoichi immediately turned her gaze onto the cream-colored satin bedspread that she was sitting upon.

"What are you doing in here, Gaara?" She sputtered out at last when she quickly returned to her senses, attention still firmly fixed on the bedspread. She gasped and her eyes flew up immediately when she felt the space beside her sag under the weight of another. Disbelieving emerald met calm jade ones.

"What are you doing in my bed?" She blurted out quickly once more and looked as if she was going to suffer from a cardiac arrest. He was so near her now, he was half-naked and his now dry hair was sticking up all over the place and he looked so oddly endearing but she had no idea what he was about to do. Her heart raced frantically in her chest and she looked so close to panicking that he sighed loudly.

"This is my bed, Sakura." He spoke at last. At his declaration, Sakura started to look like she was ready to jump out of bed any moment, but before she could do so. Gaara reached for her and pulled her close. At the same time, he leaned towards the night stand and easily switched off the table lamp, effectively dousing them in darkness. She was so shocked by the suddenness of everything that she allowed him to manhandle her, guiding them both to lie down upon the bed. She promptly became as stiff as a board when she realized just what she had allowed him to do. He sighed softly once more, and this time she could feel the heat of his breath brushing past the sensitive skin of her ear. She shivered.

Gaara was tired and all he wanted to do now was to rest. After wading through piles of paperwork and sitting through the exhaustive council meetings, thoughts of ravishing a certain pink-haired kunoichi was about the furthest thing on his mind. He had to sleep beside her though; other than the fact that her presence was oddly comforting, it was also the only way his Shukaku would allow him proper rest without causing havoc to his mind and body. But she wasn't cooperating at all, and nearing the end of his patience he ground out. "You will cease being afraid of me now, Sakura. Know that I won't hurt you."

To his surprise, she snapped back at him. "I'm not afraid of you." She blustered. "I'm just surprised that you are here, damn it."

He grunted at her answer, pulling her body tighter against his own. "Get over it." She stiffened even more at his overwhelming proximity, then relaxed slowly when it didn't appear like he was going to do anything else but sleep. Eventually, she was lying lax in his arms, and to reward her, he brushed his lips lightly against her throat. She fidgeted against him a little, and then started to feel drowsy as his body heat inundated her entire being.

"Quit ordering me around." She mumbled in response to his last sentence as she slowly succumbed to sleep.

Gaara merely pressed his face against her neck and gathered her even more closely to him as he let himself fall deeper into slumber.

* * *

Sakura never would have pegged Gaara to be the snuggling type but as it was the powerful and outwardly impassive redhead turned out to be the most contact-craving person she had ever known. Not that she knew a lot of those by experience, but that's beside the point. When Sakura woke up the next morning, it was all she could do not to freeze with shock when she opened her eyes and saw the sleeping, unguarded face of Gaara's so close to hers.

Gaara was sleeping on his back and somehow he had managed to drag her up and over his body sometime during the night, draping her over his lean form like a human blanket. His arm was flung carelessly over her back, securing the soft curves of her body firmly against his and she could clearly feel the imprint of his large hand _under_ her shirt. He wasn't being perverted though; his calloused palm laid innocently against the small of her back, radiating delicious heat to her body. She was lying on her belly on top of him, her head resting on his pillow right beside his, and their faces so close that they were barely an inch apart and their breaths mixed and mingled as they coalesced into mist. It was very early morning and the sun had not fully risen yet, therefore the night desert air was still freezing cold. Despite that though, and the fact that Sakura was not covered by blanket of any sorts, she didn't feel chilled at all. Gaara radiated enough heat to warm up the both of them, and there and then Sakura realized an astounding truth about herself.

She didn't mind staying like this with him at all.

As much as her revelation bewildered her somewhat and confused her feelings towards the redheaded Kazekage even more than ever, the pink-haired kunoichi remained docilely against Gaara and did not even attempt to move away from him. She was feeling too comfortable where she was to even want to consider going anywhere, and it was still really cold after all. And so Sakura remained sprawled lazily against the still sleeping Gaara, her tensed up body relaxed and languid once more.

Sakura allowed herself to observe him when it became obvious to her that he was still deeply asleep and didn't appear to be waking up anytime soon. Unbeknownst to her, her curious emerald eyes softened when she glimpsed of his unguarded face under the slowly lightening sky outside. He looked so much younger without his usual mask of jaded detachedness and belatedly, Sakura thought that it was unfair that someone as young as he had to take on such heavy responsibilities of a Kazekage. And yet he had quietly taken on the challenge, and had made his village thrive again against all odds. He truly was an exceptional leader, but that didn't escape the fact that he had been forced to grow up too fast.

As she watched his peaceful sleeping face, watched the closed charcoal-rimmed eyelids, Sakura could not help but feel her heart ache slightly for the child within him that had to die so early. It was not sympathy that caused her heart to hitch as she continued to look at him in the predawn light, but compassion, and so much pride. The fact that he had survived the horrors of his childhood and was doing quite well now, albeit a little emotionally stunted, told her how strong he was, and she respected that a lot.

Sakura's eyes lingered on the 'ai' character on the left side of his forehead and she mouthed the word silently. Love. It had been the one thing that he had craved for like nothing else and he had always been denied. If she thought of it, she was somewhat similar to him, in a way. She was much more fortunate of course; at least she still had the love of family and the love of her friends. It was only when it came to the love of her heart that she failed miserably, but when Sakura compared herself to Gaara, there was definitely no question as to who the luckier person was.

The pink-haired kunoichi expelled a soft sigh. Before she knew what she was doing, she freed a hand and reached out for Gaara's face, her cool, petal soft fingers trailing from his high cheekbones to the side of his thin lips. He didn't react at all to her touch, and Sakura thought that he must have been utterly exhausted from his Kazekage duties. Fingers still lightly stroking his cheek unconsciously, Sakura mused out softly.

"You have a great sense of responsibility and are absolutely loyal to those who had earned your trust. You are confident if not a little too arrogant about it, protective if a tad too possessive, but girls like that, don't they? So why is someone like you unloved, huh?" There was no answer forthcoming from him of course, and Sakura sighed again. This time, her hand wandered over to his spiky red hair, idly brushing the fiery red strands from his closed eyes.

"You know what I think?" She asked softly as he remained unresponsive and just the way she wanted him throughout this entire one-sided conversation. Gaara's breathing didn't change; remaining deep and even in his sleep. Emerald eyes still focused on him, Sakura at last dropped her hand from his face and laid her head right beside his once more, her face facing his and their noses nary a millimeter apart. She drew her face closer to his until her nose nudged his cheek softly. She closed her eyes in preparation to go back to sleep once more, the thick, dark lashes eventually curtaining her brilliant emerald orbs from the world.

"I think that it would be very easy to fall in love with you."

* * *

When Sakura awoke again, the sun had already risen and the coldness of night had long since been replaced by the sweltering heat of the day.

She found herself alone in the large bed but she really didn't have much time to ponder about that. A timid knock on the door had her scrambling out from among the satin sheets and towards the entrance of the room. Hair sleep tousled and still in her pajamas made up of a simple tee and loose mid-thigh length boxer shorts, Sakura opened the door.

It was an elderly female servant, and she bowed down deeply before the pink-haired kunoichi before she could stop her. Sakura immediately returned the polite gesture. People around here really do take their courtesy very seriously, Sakura thought.

"Haruno-sama, breakfast is ready. Would you like to have it downstairs or would you prefer to have it in your room?"

Sakura was pretty surprised by the question. "Aa, I will have it downstairs, thank you." Then she paused before speaking again. "Is the Kazekage having his breakfast as well?"

The servant shook her head respectfully. "No, Haruno-sama. The Kazekage-sama has just left with his guards to his offices."

"Oh." Sakura was strangely disappointed. A part of her wondered depressively if this was going to be the routine of her life from now onwards but then she immediately chided herself gently for being selfish. Of course Gaara wouldn't be hovering after her all the time; he had his village to see to and frankly, Sakura didn't think that she would like it very much if Gaara lingered close to her twenty-four seven. That thought decided, the pink-haired kunoichi informed the servant that she would be down shortly after washing up and had to return yet another bow before she was allowed to escape back into the bedroom.

Telling herself that she would explore Suna today, Sakura excitedly brushed her teeth and washed her face. Then she jumped into the shower to take a cooling bath before she allowed herself to take care of her slightly sun burnt limbs and face. The cool aloe vera gel felt wonderful against her sensitized flesh and once she had slathered the transparent jelly evenly Sakura quickly got dressed and hurried out of the room, tugging on a sandal as she did so.

"Haruno-sama."

Sakura looked up from her feet and saw Shun. She called out a greeting to the guard. Asuka was nowhere in sight.

Shun bowed politely, and sighing inwardly, Sakura reciprocated his action. People here really liked to bow. The ninja looked startled by her politeness.

"Please, can't you call me by name?" Sakura asked when he started to guide her downstairs. Shun shook his head immediately.

"You are my Lord's Lady, Haruno-sama. I cannot do that."

Sakura frowned. Technically she really wasn't anyone's Lady, but she was prepared to forgo that mistake for the moment in favor of more important stuff. Or more namely, the address to her. She was absolutely determined to have her way. "But Haruno-sama is my father. I am not used to being addressed by my surname."

The taller brunette was reluctant, but he could see that she was starting to get distressed by the matter, and that simply would not do. "Very well," he allowed at last. "Sakura-sama."

It was about as best as she could make of the situation and the pink-haired kunoichi nodded her head in thanks.

"Will you be planning to go anywhere today, my lady?" Shun asked his mistress as they descended from the stairs. Sakura immediately nodded her head, emerald eyes lighting up with enthusiasm.

"Oh yes. I would like to explore the village." The pink-haired kunoichi told her guard. Shun nodded in agreement. It was a good idea for her to know what would soon be her own village.

"An entourage would be prepared for you. I will see to it personally. Will you be ready to leave after breakfast?"

Sakura nodded distractedly, then asked. "Is an entourage really necessary?"

Shun eyed the Konoha kunoichi oddly. Most would have been thrilled to have a train of guards following after them but he was learning that the Kazekage's Lady wasn't one of them. She was pretty strange, actually. Shun nodded.

"There would just be four of us, excluding you, Sakura-sama. We are extremely discreet, and it would be for your protection."

Sakura really wanted to tell the ninja that she was capable of protecting herself, but then she decided to save the effort because something told her that the four guards would be with her no matter she wanted it or not. With a genuine sigh this time, the kunoichi gave up. They walked into the large dining room just in time to see the servants laying out elaborate table wares just for her.

Sakura was somewhat incredulous by the effort that the servants were going all out for her. Before Shun could stop her, Sakura quickly walked over to the same elderly female whom she had talked to earlier. Sakura bowed first this time, and both the eyes of her guard and the servant widened.

"No, please. It's alright." Sakura held the wrist of the older woman before she could reciprocate the gesture. "You are more senior than I am, obaa-san. You shouldn't have to bow to me." Around them the other servants continued to do their chores, but it was obvious that they were listening in to the conversation.

Sakura continued speaking.

"Please don't waste so much effort setting up the dining area for me in the future. It's such a big room and I am only one person." The pink-haired kunoichi hesitated a little. "Can I have breakfast in the kitchens instead?"

The baa-san appeared stunned by her request, and Sakura did not miss the look the servant sent to Shun. Sakura immediately turned her attention to the guard. "Please, Shun? It's lonely to eat, well, alone."

She really didn't have to ask for his permission. The guard wondered if she knew that Gaara-sama had expressed this morning that his mate was to be given anything she wanted, within reason of course. A part of Shun contemplated if this unorthodox request of hers was included in said category.

"Gaara-sama-"

"Gaara doesn't have to know." Sakura blurted out quickly. Shun decided then that she would not need to know that it was necessary for them to report to the Kazekage all of her activities at the end of each day. The guard nodded, and watched as the eyes of his charge gleamed with pleasure. She was quite easy to please.

"Thanks, Shun."

The guard inclined his head once. "It's my duty to see to your wellbeing, Sakura-sama."

Sakura really did not know what to say about that, and so she merely nodded. The elderly servant excused herself first to prepare the kitchens for Sakura and Sakura trailed behind gamely with Shun in tow.

The kitchens was exactly like Sakura had envisioned it to be; bustling, noisy, quite hot and nothing like the tranquil and refined dining room. Sakura loved it immediately, the busy atmosphere here reminding her somewhat of Ichiraku. Two large wooden tables occupied the centre of the room and Sakura was surprised to see two Jounin-level Suna ninjas sitting there.

"They are part of Gaara-sama's guards." Shun appeased her curiosity. "There are twelve of us making up the three teams and we live here on the property as well."

Like the kitchen help who had noticed her arrival and were standing awkwardly in silence, the two shinobi quickly jumped onto their feet and bowed to her. Sakura bowed back politely and Shun shook his head slightly at the six pairs of incredulous gaze that were directed at him at her humbling action.

Sakura quickly introduced herself to everyone present and apologized for the trouble that she had caused to everyone. Even the stoic Shun was somewhat amused when everyone almost fell over themselves trying to assure their mistress that she was no trouble. As the co-captain of the task force, Shun was well aware of the household's disquiet as well as the curiosity of his own men when it was made known to all yesterday that their Kazekage-sama had taken a mate.

The members of Gaara-sama's staff were anxious to know what their new Lady was like but now that he himself had spent some time with her, Shun was sure that Sakura-sama would be quite well liked by the servants. She wasn't self-important like most of the Kazekage-sama's guests and she was genuine and sincere in all her actions. Ketaro-sama was right; the Shukaku had chosen well.

With an almost imperceptible flick of his wrist, the brunette motioned for the kitchen help to resume their duties. The two ninjas came over for a formal introduction, but before Shun could present the Jounin to a curious Sakura. another strode into the large kitchens.

Before Sakura knew what was going on, she was promptly shoved behind the three ninjas. Even the servants appeared ready to defend her if need be. The pink-haired kunoichi was stunned by their fierce loyalty towards Gaara, and very impressed.

Now if only she could get over the fact that they were treating her like some powerless civilian.

"Explain, Shun." A forceful female voice rang out from beyond the tall wall of Jounin that blocked Sakura's view. "I only left Suna for a couple of days but when I came back, I was informed that my dear little brother had taken a mate. Is it true?"

Sakura recognized that voice immediately. She had heard it every time its owner came to Konoha for a political liaison between her country and Sakura's, not to mention to visit close friends. Before Shun could make a reply, Sakura forcibly elbowed her way through the overprotective cluster of ninjas, surprising them somewhat when she used a little of her inhuman strength to shove them aside when they proved immovable.

"Temari?"

Temari of the Sand watched with inward incomprehension as a petite pink-head squeezed into view from between the bodies of her brother's elite guards. Hunter green eyes widened imperceptibly.

"Sakura?"

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	7. Chapter 7

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 7062

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 18/07/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Seven

* * *

"What are you doing here in Suna, Sakura?"

Temari's voice softened somewhat for her friend from Konoha, after Sakura wriggled out from between her brother's guards to stand before her.

Sakura smiled weakly at the blonde.

"Anou…"

Hunter green eyes narrowed perceptively. .

"Don't tell me that what the villagers said was true after all. My little brother has indeed acquired a mate."

Temari sounded disbelieving. This was so…sudden, after all. Of course, Gaara had told them about the Shukaku's requirement a couple years back, but she had never thought that the mate would be found and claimed so soon.

Sakura nodded, and Temari was astute enough to start guessing the truth. She was somewhat accurate. "If you are here, then the mate must be from Konoha, isn't she?" She fired the question to Sakura immediately. The pink-haired kunoichi nodded again, and the blonde Jounin wondered vaguely if the unknown female was someone she knew. Temari felt the tension in her shoulders ease somewhat. At least the mate was from a longstanding ally and not from hostile territories. They wouldn't have to worry much about her trying to assassinate Gaara now.

"Someone I know?"

Sakura nodded her head once more.

"You can say that."

Around the two females, the guards and the kitchen help followed their conversation closely.

Temari was getting a little impatient by Sakura's hesitance to reveal the identity of the mate. Just what on earth was going on? And wasn't Sakura supposed to be in charge of the countries east of Konoha? When did she get reassigned to the west anyway? Temari immediately assumed that Sakura must have been here as an escort for the journey from Konoha to Suna.

"So where is she, Sakura?" Temari asked somewhat wryly when said female proved to be deliberately immune to her probing stare.

Shun decided to answer the question for the Kazakage's elder sister.

"You are looking at her, Temari-sama."

Cue the second shock of the day.

Temari's eyes widened. Sakura winced inwardly at the disbelieving look.

"_You are my brother's mate_?!"

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled painfully.

"You couldn't believe it too, right?" She muttered to the stunned blonde. "Join the club."

"But you?" Temari was having some trouble getting past the fact that this cheerful, optimistic kunoichi from Leaf village was the destined mate of her own distant, somewhat emotionally detached brother. "How?"

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and sighed.

"Long story. And it's not as if I wanted this, you know. Everything happened so fast that my head is still spinning from it all." The pink-haired medic-nin sounded a little disgruntled. "And now shishou has made it my life mission to make Gaara happy, and that means staying with him, so here I am."

Temari shook her head slightly. As odd as the idea was, she could not help but feel utmost relief this time. The blonde would trust Sakura with her life; the pink-haired kunoichi was absolutely loyal to those whom she considered her friends, and Temari knew that if anything else, Sakura would never purposely seek to hurt or destroy her little brother.

Her greatest worry put to rest; the blonde quickly felt her shock gradually disappear to be replaced by curiosity. How had Gaara come across Sakura? What had been Sakura's initial reaction to the knowledge that she was the Shukaku's chosen? Ever blunt and to the point, Temari quickly asked the most important question that lingered on her mind. "Are you physically mated to my brother already?"

Sakura was so mortified by the fact that Temari was asking something so intimate and right in front of an entire bunch of strangers while she was at it too, that she turned bright pink.

"Temari!" The kunoichi squeaked out in a strangled tone as she tried her best to ignore the interested stares of Gaara's staff and guards. .

The Sand-nin seemed to remember where she was then, though she was quite amused by Sakura's shyness and that maidenly embarrassment had already answered her question somewhat.

"Oh, right." The blonde drawled, lips drawn up in an imperceptible smirk. "We will continue this in private then. Shall we adjourn to a family room?"

Quite eager to talk to a close friend whom she had not seen for at least four months, Sakura would have enthusiastically followed after Temari had Shun not chose the moment to interfere. The brunette stepped up beside the pink-haired kunoichi, inclining his head respectfully towards Temari first before turning his entire attention on Sakura.

"Sakura-sama, your breakfast is awaiting."

Sakura had almost forgotten the reason why she was in the kitchen in the first place. Shun's reminder had her quickly turning back to face the kitchen staff, her face aflame with mortification once more. She quickly bowed and apologized to them for forgetting about the breakfast that they were diligently preparing for her. Temari did not know what to make of the sight of Sakura acting so respectful towards the servants, and just shook her head inwardly when Gaara's staff hurriedly assured their new mistress that no harm was done.

If anything, Temari had to admit that Sakura had a unique way around her that attracted people to her like bees to honey, and the oddest thing was, the pink-haired kunoichi never seemed to realize just how special she was. It was oddly endearing, and as she watched Sakura 'unconsciously' in action once more, the blonde could not help but feel hope for her lonely brother.

If there was anyone who could draw Gaara out of his shell, Temari really believed that Sakura stood quite a fair chance. And now that Sakura was the unexpected mate of their redheaded brother…

Temari grinned as Sakura looked at her apologetically. Their private little get together would just have to wait.

"It's alright." The blonde spoke reassuringly. "I'm due to report in to the village elders now anyway. We will talk later; there will definitely be more than enough time."

Sakura nodded immediately, and Temari eyed the pink-haired kunoichi affectionately. "Enjoy your breakfast, and oh, welcome to the family, by the way. Kankuro will be so surprised." The blonde teased the blushing female.

Sakura scowled at the older kunoichi. "Temari!"

The Jounin-level Sand-nin merely laughed throatily and left the kitchen, wriggling her fingers in a semblance of a wave as she disappeared from sight.

* * *

"Sakura-sama, you seem to be very close to Temari-sama." Shun mentioned casually as Sakura sat down for her breakfast. The other two guards who had been in the kitchen had long since left to do Shun's bidding in preparing an entourage for her exploration of the village. Sakura had felt vaguely disappointed that she hadn't been introduced to them before they quickly disappeared, but Shun had assured her that by the end of this week she should know and have seen all the twelve ninjas who served as the Kazekage's armed guards.

Sakura thanked the obaa-san as the elderly servant set a bowl of oden and a steaming cup of coffee before her. Then she started to answer Shun's question.

"I know Temari and Kankuro quite well. They stop by Konoha at least once every couple of months, and every time they do so I would be the one to bring them around. They are quite well known by the ninjas of Konoha, and we do spar with each other occasionally, so yes, we are all quite close."

Shun nodded his understanding. "I see." The brunette was thoughtfully silent as Sakura dug into her breakfast with gusto, her entire features lighting up with delight when the noodles proved to be to her taste. After swallowing her first bite, the smiling kunoichi immediately turned around and gave her honest compliments to the kitchen staff.

Shun was mesmerized by his mistress' enthusiasm for…everything. She has got to be the direct opposite of their lord in temperament, but oddly enough the both of them did not seem to mind the vast differences of the other's…much.

The brunette Jounin waited patiently for Sakura to finish her food, and when she was done, he quickly stopped her from taking the empty dishes to the sink to be washed.

"The servants would be more than happy to serve you, Sakura-sama." He had told her, and despite her protests, the servants immediately took his side, clearing away the dishes quickly and efficiently. The pink-haired kunoichi's humble attitude was not lost on the kitchen staff though; Shun was well aware that they were relieved, and quite pleased with the knowledge that they would be serving a modest and kindhearted mistress.

At the guard's insistence, the pink-haired kunoichi was immediately led back to her room by a female servant, whereby she proceeded to change out of her Konoha outfit to one more suitable to the harsh climate of Suna. Sakura had been somewhat skeptical at first, but the material of the earth-toned clothing had felt thin and cool despite the fact that it covered her entirely from neck to toes, and thanks to the maid's adjustment of the attire, Sakura reckoned that she hadn't looked like a sack of potatoes like she had thought she would.

Privately, Shun thought that his mistress looked radiant and very beautiful in Suna's traditional costume, and as the pink-haired female descended from the stairs carefully, the guard bowed deeply towards her, much to her surprise and embarrassment. Sakura had quickly commented to him that he needn't be so courteous to her in the future, and Shun had merely replied that it was an honor to be of service to the Kazekage's Lady.

Once again, Sakura did not know what to make of this new address to her. She really wasn't Gaara's anything (other than his mate, of course) but before she could clear the air with Shun he had led her outside to the front yard where three other guards were waiting. Sakura immediately put aside her conversation with the serious brunette in favor of an introduction from the trio of Jounin. Like Shun, they were only a little older than she was; five years her senior at the most, and they were all very polite and cordial towards her.

Taiki was the one with slightly darker skin than the rest and was very tall. He possessed lengthy pitch black hair; sincere brown eyes and a small half smile that made him look quite kind and approachable. Fuji and Kagami were the two ninjas whom she had spotted in the kitchens earlier. Both of them were a little shorter than Taiki, and now that she was allowed to see them close-up, Sakura was quite surprised to see that they were identical twins. They both had wind tousled brunette hair in a darker shade than Shun's, and intense violet eyes. Both bowed deeply to her when they were being introduced, their voices ringing together as one. They were so alike that Sakura could not tell one apart from the other, though Shun clearly had no such trouble.

All three ninjas accepted the task of protecting their new mistress just as readily as Shun and Asuka had done, and the moment she stepped out of Gaara's property it was as if the guards had experienced a three hundred and sixty degree change in demeanor. Faces set and implacable, they all looked grim and serious as they flanked her on all sides, their attention focused wholly on their surroundings and less on the disgruntled pink-haired kunoichi who tried her best not to feel like some S-class missing-nin being brought to trial.

As they headed into the main streets of Suna, Sakura quickly focused her attention on the crowds of people milling around as they went about fulfilling their daily chores. Once satisfied that there was no immediate danger towards Sakura and that his three guards would alert him right away should the situation change, Shun fell back to walk beside Sakura, starting a running commentary for the interested kunoichi on the significant landmarks and customs of their people as he did so.

Sakura found that Suna and Konoha were very similar—and yet so different at the same time. Other than for the obvious difference in climate and building structures, the mood of the general crowd was so much like Konoha that Sakura was pleasantly surprised. Children ran around freely, darting about the throngs of busy people as they played, and all in all, the mood in Suna was one of contentment and quiet joviality. It was an astonishing change from the disturbed and disquieting little village that Sakura had remembered those five years ago. It was no wonder that people were starting to flock to Suna, the village was slowly growing to become one of the safest and more prosperous places in the world.

The pink-haired kunoichi was also somewhat taken aback when the masses started to wave and call out polite greetings to her as she passed by with the guards. Some even bowed politely to her, and Sakura really did not know what to make of it. Sakura smiled awkwardly and tried to greet the villagers as best as she could. Granted that there were not a lot of pink-haired females with their own group of ninjas walking along the streets of Suna, but Sakura was not very comfortable with her sudden elevation of status, especially since she had not done anything to merit such respect from these decent people in the first place. The kunoichi mentioned that to Shun too, but the guard merely assured her that she was worthy because she was the Shukaku's chosen. Sakura would have taken grave offense to that had a group of eager females not crowd over to her at that very moment.

Taiki, Fuji and Kagami had moved to intercept what looked like the half a dozen or so women as they tried to get nearer to their Kazekage's Lady. They looked pretty harmless to Sakura and the pink-haired kunoichi did not really like the way the guards were distancing her from the villagers. Sakura never did like those high and mighty types who hid themselves behind a wall, thinking themselves too good to interact with the 'commoners', and therefore there was no way she was allowing the same thing to happen to her, though she quickly made it clear that she appreciated the guards' good intentions.

Sakura immediately asked Shun to let the women through. When the brunette guard took too long to answer her, the exasperated kunoichi merely stepped forward and in a manner not unlike what she had done in the kitchens earlier, forcibly cleared her own path among her men.

"Good morning, ladies." The pink-haired kunoichi greeted pleasantly when she came face to face with the women, blatantly ignoring the incredulous stares of her guards as she did so. "How are you on this pleasant day?"

The gaggle of females all around Sakura's age, if not a little bit more, appeared thrilled by her utmost attention. Oh, there were some of the younger females who hadn't been exactly pleased when they had found out that their well sought after Kazekage had taken a mate, but this group certainly did not belong to that category. They had heard of how powerful this particular kunoichi was, of course, and that she was also a remarkable medic-nin well versed in the art of healing. The fact that they now knew that she was quite pretty and didn't seem to possess any airs around her merely reassured them again that the choice of Gaara-sama's had been impeccable as usual. The Kazekage's Lady would be an asset to Suna, and these females were practical enough to put aside their petty infatuation for their handsome redheaded leader to know that it would be wise to give their loyalty to her.

The appointed leader of the group, a pretty female with large golden eyes and white hair, bowed respectfully before the pink-haired kunoichi. The others quickly followed her example despite Sakura's soft protests.

"My lady," The white-haired female spoke in a distinct Suna accent. "My name is Sachiko, and these behind me are my friends. We would like to welcome you to Suna, and if you do not mind having us, we would be delighted to serve under you as your handmaidens, my lady."

Sakura really did not understand. She turned her confused gaze to Shun, who was by now standing beside her. Shun ignored her questioning gaze in favor for something else. "Sakura-sama," the brunette spoke almost reproachfully. "I would appreciate in the future that you please allow us to ensure the safety of the area first before you insist your way."

It was the most polite scolding that the pink-haired kunoichi had ever received, and the fact that Shun was only trying his best to see to her wellbeing that she sighed heavily and not snap at the guard that she was very capable of looking after herself. To avoid any more confrontation in front of his silent men, the pink-haired kunoichi decided to relent and nodded apologetically at the exasperated brunette.

"Sorry, Shun." Sakura tried to be as sincere as possible even though she was aware that she probably would not be heeding his warning anytime soon when it really came down to it. Then she turned towards the surprised guards and murmured her apologies to them as well. Taiki, Fuji and Kagami quickly accepted their mistress' contrite admission of course, pleased by the fact that she had even thought of them.

Once satisfied that she had appeased the men, Sakura returned her attention back to Shun and gestured to Sachiko and the fidgeting group of women. "So what does Sachiko-san mean by handmaidens?"

Shun didn't become a Jounin because he was the careless type and so didn't his men. The co-captain of the Kazekage's guards was well aware of the fact that his mistress had not given him a fixed promise not to rush headlong into a situation again and the fact that she was blatantly trying to change the subject had him shaking his head inwardly with chagrin. The brunette was starting to realize now that protecting the pink-haired kunoichi was going to be even harder than watching over his Kazekage's back. He just knew that there was soon going to be a lot of premature grey hair sprouting on his head all thanks to Sakura-sama.

Shun decided to let go of the issue for the moment. "Handmaidens are the ladies-in-waiting for the Kazekage's Lady. They accompany the lord's lady and take care of all her needs." He answered. Sachiko nodded.

"Yes, my lady, handmaidens are absolutely loyal to the Lady whom they serve, and will give their lives to protect their charge if need be. Please allow us to contribute to the village by serving you, Haruno-sama."

In other words, more people to watch after her. Great. The pink-haired kunoichi was starting to get resigned to the idea that everyone was going to do their best to look out for her whether she wanted it or not. It was really odd, but Sakura would never turn away such gestures because they had been made out of concern for her, and it was simply wrong for her to callously turn them down and not show her appreciation.

"Of course I would be delighted with your services, ladies." The group of females shifted and tittered softly among themselves at Sakura's ready agreement. The pink-haired kunoichi did not know what else to say, or what to do with said group of females now, and so she just looked helplessly at Shun. True to her expectations, the brunette knew exactly what to do.

"You know that all of you will have to be screened by Gaara-sama before you are allowed to assist Sakura-sama, Sachiko." Shun spoke calmly. The white-haired female nodded immediately, and before long, the head of Sakura's guards had arranged a meeting for them with Gaara, and told Sakura that if all goes well she would have her handmaids in service by the end of next week.

The small group of women was clearly excited over the prospect of serving the Kazekage's Lady, and Sachiko's golden eyes glimmered with pride as she bowed down deeply before Sakura once more.

"Haruno-sama, we will definitely do our best to aid you, my lady. You will not be disappointed with us, and in all honesty, we simply cannot wait to help you prepare for the celebration in honor of your wed-"

"-welcoming party." Shun quickly cut in before Sachiko could blurt out the wrong thing. Gaara-sama had not mentioned the impending wedding to his mate yet and the brunette was astute enough to know that the pink-haired kunoichi would not appreciate knowing that everyone in the village was already well aware of the imminent nuptial between the Kazekage and his mate except said mate herself.

The white-haired female looked briefly startled by the guard's interruption, but Shun's slate grey eyes warned her to keep quiet. Inwardly bewildered, Sachiko nodded in agreement and played along.

"Yes, of course in the honor of your welcoming party, my lady."

Sakura did not seem to notice the brief hesitation of the female and she nodded. Then, eager to get Sakura away from the half a dozen females, Shun quickly announced that they had to be on their way, immediately ushering the surprised pink-haired kunoichi away before Sakura could say anything more than a decent farewell.

Taiki, Fuji and Kagami knew what their captain was doing, and they aided him immediately, clearing a path among the crowd for the small entourage and hurriedly escorting a disgruntled Sakura, only slowing down when they were a few streets away in a quieter part of Suna.

By then, it was almost lunchtime, and slightly relieved by the quickly passing time, Shun asked immediately if Sakura would like to return home for her meal. The guard had not foreseen the fact that Sakura would be exposed to all the villagers with the knowledge of her impending marriage and was now very eager to shepherd the nonplussed kunoichi back within the safety of the extensive Kazekage residence.

It was really unfortunate for him that Sakura didn't want to return home just yet. Instead the pink-haired kunoichi mentioned that she would like to sample the local cuisine, pinpointing one of the busiest restaurants as she did so. It wasn't a good idea at all, and Shun just knew that if they patronized that establishment now, Sakura would definitely know of her own wedding by the time they got out, which would distress her and that would indirectly make life somewhat difficult for all of them, the Kazekage included.

However, Shun also knew that his continuous insistence on their returning back home would definitely arouse the suspicions of the kunoichi and so the brunette really had no idea at all how to refute Sakura's newest plan.

Kagami came to the rescue, fortunately.

He quietly remarked that they were quite near the Kazekage's offices, and openly pondered if Gaara-sama was having his lunch as well. Fuji caught on immediately, and made sure to mention the fact that their Kazekage was well known for dangerously skipping meals in favor of his tiring and time-consuming work.

True to their expectations, the caring, as well as the medic side of their mistress took the bait immediately. Sakura promptly forgot about her own interests and quickly turned to the twins, immediately demanding for them to clarify the matter.

"What do you mean that Gaara is not eating properly?" Sakura started to glower at them, as if they were the ones responsible for this. The twins looked slightly taken aback by the sweet-tempered kunoichi's sudden change in demeanor, and a quick glance at Shun told them that he was just as nonplussed as they were.

"Gaara-sama is blessed by the Shukaku's strength; therefore he can withstand long periods without the need for sustenance. Though it is not very healthy at all, of course." Fuji added hurriedly when the pink-haired kunoichi appeared hardly appeased by his explanation.

"Of course it is not healthy!" Sakura snapped irritably. After spending heaps of years watching Naruto down ramen like no tomorrow, Sakura was not at all convinced by the 'can withstand long periods without the need for sustenance' bit. She was very aware that demon hosts expand a massive amount of chakra thanks to their demonic counterparts, and since chakra burns energy which comes directly from the host there was no way that it was healthy at all for Gaara to be even skipping meals.

God, for a Kazekage he sure was being extremely ignorant towards his own wellbeing.

"And his guards?" Sakura asked immediately. "What were they doing when he was starving himself?"

If Shun was offended by Sakura's implications he did not show it.

"We cannot force Gaara-sama to do what he refuses to do, Sakura-sama." Was his simple reply. Sakura was immediately contrite.

"…Sorry." The pink-haired kunoichi apologized again. She seemed to be doing that a lot since coming over to Suna. "That was uncalled for."

Shun merely nodded in acceptance.

Her fierce defense of Gaara-sama was astounding, and so was her protective instinct. The brunette guard had been led to believe that Sakura had been a very distant acquaintance of their Kazekage until she had been identified as his mate just two weeks ago. She was also the one who had saved Kankuro-sama from death by poisoning five years ago, and had also been actively involved in the rescue of Gaara-sama as well. It appeared very odd to him that while she had not seen their redheaded Kazekage for almost five years since that rescue, she was being so defensive of him now.

Shun found himself admiring Sakura-sama's loyal traits, and made a mental note to go easier on the kunoichi in future. It must have been quite hard for her as well, to be uprooted from her own village and brought to an utterly foreign one.

"Shun?" Sakura interrupted the guard's inner thoughts. "Kagami mentioned that we are near Gaara's offices. Do you think that we can drop in for a visit?" Then she mumbled to herself that by hook or by crook the stupid man was going to be having lunch with her no matter what.

Shun eyed his men, the somber looks on their faces completely belying the almost imperceptible glint of amusement in their eyes as they all heard the disgruntled kunoichi mumble about the 'stupid man' who happened to be their esteemed Kazekage. She was slowly but surely winning over their loyalty, and she wasn't even doing it intentionally.

As Shun and his team guided Sakura towards the Kazekage's offices, he wondered if Gaara-sama knew just how lucky he was in procuring such a precious female as mate.

* * *

At the moment, said Kazekage felt about ready to throttle his incompetent aides. With his bare hands.

He had been stuck in the boardroom since early this morning, listening to all the petty concerns of his village's councilmen as they came up to him to relay their problems for him to solve. It had started out well enough of course; his rest beside Sakura had been one of the best that he had ever had in the longest time since Jiraiya of the Legendary Sannin had helped alter his originally three-point seal to a more secure six-point seal which had helped prevent the Shukaku from rampaging in his mind and forcibly taking over him, allowing him to rest and sleep in peace. When he had woken up with Sakura's sleeping form sprawled over him, the redhead had been most reluctant to leave her alone in his bed. Still, the call of duty could not be ignored and he had gotten up in the end, after listening to her steady heartbeats and languishing in her warmth a little longer than he normally would.

He had felt pretty mellow as he arrived in his office with his guards in tow, and for the first few hours or so, Gaara had been perfectly content to just sit back and listen, occasionally commenting only when absolutely necessary. Then the topic of Suna's budgets came up, and his advisors started to argue back and forth with each other regarding the growing sum of money as well as the many ways to make use of it so as to benefit the village the most.

As usual, Gaara had kept his council to himself, remaining perfectly silent as his advisors fought among themselves to be heard. Then as expected, the inevitable volley of verbal abuse was uttered by one of the councilmen, and all hell broke lose.

His head starting to ache somewhat, Gaara sat at the head of the board table unnoticed as his dignified advisors and aides started to hurl insults at each other in earnest. The scuffle between the dozen or so councilmen with conflicting interests carried on till lunch, and by then the Kazekage had shut out their appalling display and was diligently going through documents in a little corner that Asuka and his men had cleared for him.

That was when Sakura came into the picture.

The door to the meeting room opened to reveal Shun first. Gaara's head had lifted up at the sound of the intrusion and when he saw the co-captain of his guards, he quickly focused his entire attention on the brunette. Had something happened to Sakura?

Then Gaara saw the flash of pink hair as Shun stepped aside and allowed said female to enter. She was dressed in the traditional costume of his country, and Gaara noted with masculine satisfaction that she looked exceptionally radiant in it. She was adjusting surprisingly well to the transition to Suna, and Gaara could only hope that she would get used to their way of living quickly. Even as he watched her now, Sakura's face was slightly flushed from the warm climate, but her emerald eyes were filled with the same life and spirit that he had seen back in Konoha.

Gaara started to frown slightly.

What on earth was she doing here?

Sakura didn't even bat an eye over the shouting advisors as they argued their point to their adversaries. She had seen this happen way too often when she was with Tsunade for it to bother her. The pink-haired kunoichi was more interested in the redhead sitting at the head of the humongous table, who was looking at her approach with something akin to mild annoyance in his distant jade gaze. She promptly ignored his unpleasant stare.

Sakura marched right up to Gaara and frowned back at him. The redheaded Kazekage was dressed in his flowing white and blue Kage robes and looked utterly imposing but Sakura was quick to brush that aside in favor for narrowing her striking emerald eyes at him. At the same time Shun, Taiki, and the twins hurried after her, quickly falling into place beside Asuka and his team when they reached their charge.

Asuka's blue eyes glimmered with humor as he regarded his fellow co-captain. "Not that the extra entertainment is unappreciated, but why did you bring Sakura-sama here?"

Shun looked a little ragged from running after his new mistress the entire morning. "If you find this so funny, I will be more than happy to switch places with you anytime." The brunette muttered. "As unbelievable as it seems, bringing Sakura-sama here was the only way to keep her from running into any trouble."

Asuka merely arched his brow at the cryptic reply, but he didn't have time to enquire further about it, for Sakura chose that moment to break the silence that she and Gaara had been locked in.

"You, Gaara, are a lousy mate." She announced to the redhead abruptly.

Asuka's blue eyes widened somewhat, and Shun quickly decided that he was wrong about being able to keep the pink-haired kunoichi out of mischief here.

Gaara narrowed his eyes slightly at the insult. But Sakura was not done yet.

"Do you know how rude you were this morning?" She started to lecture him, looking mildly indignant as she did so too, the insolent chit. "Did you not even have the decency to inform me when you were leaving the house? I won't stand for this; I will have you know right now."

To say that Gaara was not pleased by her words was an understatement. The Kazekage started to stand, towering over his petite mate like the menacing life form that he was. Sakura was hardly intimidated. Her frown merely intensified.

"I am not scared of you." She muttered at him. "So you might as well quit puffing yourself up or whatever it is that you are doing now."

The guards tried their best not to appear too mesmerized by this odd experience that they were only too fortunate to be in.

Gaara's jade eyed stare seemed to intensify, and although Sakura's heart fluttered somewhat at that look of his, she stood her ground.

"I have a lot of things to discuss with you; there are some things that are going to have to change around here, and you had better get used to it." Then the pink-haired kunoichi paused, as if remembering her true reason for coming here. "Have you eaten yet?"

When Gaara refused to answer her, Sakura promptly turned to an opened mouthed Asuka. "Has he eaten yet?" She demanded, ignoring the low growl of annoyance emitting from her mate as she did so. The guard shook his head, still surprised that she actually dared to boss their leader around. The blue-haired male was quite sure that she would be dead by now if she wasn't Gaara's mate.

"Sakura…" The low warning mutter washed off the kunoichi's back like water. Sakura eyed her mate almost contemplatively. Then in a move that clearly surprised everyone present, she stepped towards the clearly aggravated Kazekage and promptly soothed his irritation by laying a hand on his arm. And damn if she didn't start petting him in a placating manner like he was some tame beast. Gaara was so nonplussed by her action that he could only stare at her as she openly showed her affection to him.

"I'm hungry." She informed him shortly, then looked expectantly at him as if waiting for him to reply her. He did no such thing, merely continued staring at her and wondered what on earth she wanted him to say to that absurd statement. Sakura quickly grew impatient at the prolonged silence. "Well?" She demanded, starting to get somewhat agitated now.

The look in his eyes told her that he clearly thought her not right in the head.

Sakura was not having any of it. Irritated by his deliberate obtuseness, she started to glare at him a little. "Didn't you promise shishou that you would see to all my needs, Gaara? I demand that you take responsibility for your words right this very instant."

He did not understand why she was kicking up such a big fuss all over lunch. "The guards-"

"Are not my mate." She quickly finished his sentence for him. She had quit petting him by now, no; she had taken to squeezing his arm with increasing aggravation, though judging by the irritated look that was wholly focused on him, Gaara was quite sure that she was not fully aware of her own actions yet.

Oddly enough, watching her scowl at him made him feel like smiling at her. Gaara did no such thing though. Instead, the redhead captured her hand with his and gently pried her fingers off him. He didn't let go of her when he was done, and continued holding her small hand within his larger one. Sakura appeared mildly disconcerted by his gesture.

"Haruno-sama?"

The pink-haired kunoichi turned her gaze away from Gaara and to somewhere to her right, where a disgruntled looking Ketaro appeared mildly startled by her presence. Because she was still held firmly by Gaara, Sakura only bowed her head politely to the elderly advisor. "Ketaro-san, good afternoon."

Gradually, the rest of the occupants in the large room slowly became aware of Sakura's appearance. The councilmen immediately stopped their arguments in favor of greeting the pink-haired kunoichi, and Sakura nodded her head at them in return, inwardly amused by their general chagrin at being caught acting so undignified.

"What are you doing here, Haruno-sama, if I may just ask?" Ketaro, the unofficial spokesperson of the group enquired genially. Sakura smiled at the old man.

"Aa, it is lunchtime, and I thought that I could-"

"Ah, my lady intends to share her afternoon meal with her lord?" Ketaro completed her answer for her. Sakura nodded, and not missing the way Gaara-sama was still holding on to the hand of the pink-haired kunoichi, the councilman smiled. He was not the only one. The elderly advisors were all thrilled to see their detached Kazekage acting so openly affectionate to his mate.

"Of course, of course." Ketaro looked to his fellow statesmen who mostly appeared pleased by this situation. "The two of you may go and enjoy a private lunch of course, my lord and lady. This meeting can be postponed to a later time; we all need to eat as well, after all."

Sakura was very pleased that the advisors were pretty much in agreement with her. Now, the only person left to convince was the stubborn redhead himself, and Sakura was about to turn back to lecture him about the merits of lunch when Ketaro continued to speak.

"Besides, I am sure that the two of you have much to discuss, seeing that the we-"

At Ketaro's words, Shun shot quickly into action.

"My lady," The guard blurted out immediately, effectively washing out Ketaro's voice with his own. "Where would you like to go for lunch later? Maybe we should go outside and discuss this."

Sakura was slightly surprised by Shun's rudeness. Why, Ketaro-san hasn't finished what he wanted to say yet. Gesturing for the brunette guard to wait a moment, a distracted Sakura fixed her attention on the older advisor. "I'm sorry, Ketaro-san, I didn't quite catch what you were trying to say. Can you repeat that again?"

Ketaro was quite taken aback by all the warning looks the Kazekage's guards were giving him from behind the kunoichi's back. He didn't understand why they were so adamant on what he was about to say. The old man hesitated, then turned to look at Gaara for his cue. The apathetic façade on the redhead quickly convinced him that there was nothing to worry about. Why, Gaara-sama looked so unworried that he seemed almost bored to death by what was going on around him.

The old man opened his mouth.

"Why, Haruno-sama, I was just mentioning about your impending nupt-"

Once again, Shun interrupted the elder male, much to Asuka's growing amusement. Oh, the other Jounin did try to help—somewhat. "Sakura-sama, but we do need to go out to discuss this right now. It is very urgent." And Asuka nodded his head in agreement. Some help.

Gaara, who for the life of him didn't understand why his guards were so insistent on preventing Ketaro from informing the lucky bride of her own wedding which was to happen in a few days time, didn't react much to their antics until an unknowing Fuji made the mistake of trying to whisk her away from him to herd her out of the room.

Gaara's narrowed jade eyes and a low, almost inaudible growl had the surprised male quickly letting go of his equally surprised mistress, who turned to frown at all of them.

"Let Ketaro-san finish." She snapped at all of them, Gaara included. The redhead eyed her just as irritably; she had better watch her tone around him. Sakura promptly ignored his stare. "Please continue, Ketaro-san. Impending what?"

Shun gave up, and retreated to the side with his men to watch the imminent fireworks. Asuka took pity on his dour looking co-captain, and the blue-haired man went to his Kazekage's side and started to speak softly into the redhead's ear.

At the same time, Ketaro was starting to notice some discrepancies in the actions of the group of people in front of him. The councilman might be getting on in age, but he was not stupid. The fact that Haruno-sama did not seem to connect his words together made a warning bell ring within his head. Something was wrong, and maybe the pink-haired kunoichi was not aware of her own wedding yet?

Just then, the slightly disconcerted look that the Kazekage sent his mate after Asuka had finished speaking all but confirmed the old man's suspicions. He was suddenly glad that he had hesitated. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or in this case, misled.

"Ketaro-san?" Sakura probed earnestly when the old man seemed to pause for too long. The elderly male merely shook his head and smiled.

"Oh, it's nothing really, my lady, just an old man's habit to babble at insignificant things."

Sakura frowned.

"But-"

"Sakura." Gaara interrupted her this time. "We will be leaving now."

The redhead still didn't understand his guard's explanation on how it would upset the pink-haired kunoichi to learn of her wedding from the mouth of anyone else but him, and though he didn't understand the theory behind this entire farce, he quite understood the 'upset' part. It was no wonder that Shun and his men were so frantic to stop Ketaro from blurting out what he shouldn't be saying.

Gaara started to tug a bewildered Sakura behind him as he started for the exit, his guards falling into place behind him and his mate as he did so. Asuka hurried after his Kazekage after he had collected all of the redhead's paperwork, and Shun was already up ahead, opening the doors for his charges to go through.

"But I'm pretty sure that Ketaro-san had something important to say to me…" Sakura trailed off to nobody in particular.

Fortunately for her, someone heard.

It was one of the younger aides, and ever loyal to his Kazekage, he quickly sought to relieve the worries of Gaara-sama's mate.

"Don't worry, Haruno-sama," The young male called out helpfully. "Ketaro-sama was probably about to congratulate you on your impending marriage to Gaara-sama. It's nothing important at all."

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	8. Chapter 8

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 6075

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 18/07/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Eight

* * *

The guards froze. Ketaro froze.

Sakura blinked—and stiffened.

The errant aide who had unknowingly put his foot into his mouth did no such thing though, unfortunately for the rest of them. The cheerful male took the opportunity to congratulate the 'happy couple' and to wish them a fruitful, not to mention blissful, marital union.

Shun would have smacked his palm over his forehead repeatedly if it wasn't such an undignified thing to do. Instead the gloomy-looking Jounin decided to occupy himself by observing his charges, just in case he had to duck for cover when things started getting violent.

Gaara, of course, was predictably unruffled despite what had just happened; the powerful redhead's attention was wholly focused on the face of his still gaping mate's, and he hardly even seemed bothered that the young assistant was still blathering on about the wedding preparations and whatnots.

Sakura, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.

Even the ever stoic Shun could not help but cringe inwardly just by looking at the shell-shocked face of the poor kunoichi. Her eyes were wide and slightly glazed with disbelief, and her lips trembled finely with growing distress. She was suddenly pale as paper, and was she _shaking_?!

"…nuptials…?" The pink-haired female repeated hoarsely when the enthusiastic aide mentioned the word one too many times.

Hamano Ren, the young man who had let the cat out of the bag, together with the assembled group of slightly confused looking aides and councilmen, finally realized that the kunoichi from Konoha wasn't looking at all thrilled by their sincere congratulations. In fact, she appeared almost staggered by the information, almost as if…

Ren's eyes widened as a dangerous possibility occurred to him.

"Oh, Sakura-sama!! Don't tell me that you didn't kno-"

"I think, Ren," Ketaro chose the moment to interrupt before the careless young man could make things even worse than ever. "That you have said more than enough regarding this topic. Why don't we leave our Kazekage-sama and Sakura-sama alone to sort out this little…miscommunication? Fellow councilmen, shall we head out for lunch first?"

Of course, everyone really wanted to stay here and watch this mini melodrama involving their normally above-reproach leader and his stricken-looking mate unfold, but after a few threatening glares or twenty from the Kage's personal guards, there was an immediate general murmur of assent as the advisors reluctantly milled out of the large conference room.

The two teams of elite Jounins waited patiently for everyone to clear the area first before turning to their commanders for further instructions. Those who had been introduced and had spent time with Sakura looked mildly amused and at the same time somewhat apprehensive, whereas those who hadn't appeared a little confused by how unafraid the petite little Leaf-nin was of their leader.

Yes, the unafraid little Leaf-nin was gradually recovering from her shock and was beginning to glare daggers at their Kazekage, never mind the fact that said powerful Suna-nin could easily hurt her very badly if he so chose to. In fact, it was all Sakura could do to control her raging temper and to refrain from yelling at the tall redhead standing oh so uncaringly before her. _Nuptials?! Marriage?! Was this a bloody joke?!_

Asuka glanced meaningfully at Shun, and the brunette guard nodded. The atmosphere between Sakura-sama and their Kage was now very strained and getting more so by the minute. It was well past time to disengage and regroup.

"Gaara-sama," Shun quickly spoke for the two teams. "We will be taking sentry outside until you have further need for us."

Predictably, the redhead didn't respond, but his guards were long used to their leader's noncommittal behavior. They filed out silently from the conference room after sketching quick bows towards Gaara and Sakura. Both of them appeared not to notice all the commotion around them as the guards took their leave, and Shun's expression was dour than ever.

Asuka's electric blue eyes danced with amusement the moment the door to the conference room clicked shut, much to the irritation of his more straitlaced co-commander. Granted that there were not many people who were brave—or foolish enough to go head on head with their Shukaku-hosting Kazekage, but Shun had felt that it was part of their duty as guards to ensure peace in their Kazekage's household. At any rate, they had failed miserably all the same, though they had been so damned near to escaping from the situation unscathed, too. Only two steps away from the exit, to be exact, and then that smart mouthed statesperson just had to go and blurt out everything.

Well, no one ever said that life was fair.

After dispatching each of their teams on active patrol duty, the two commanders stood guard by the double doors of the conference room.

The muscle at the side of Shun's eye ticked when his partner refused to quit that idiotic grinning.

"Alright," The stoic brunette could not take the blue-haired male's disgustingly smiling face anymore. Suna-nin were _not_ supposed to be this cheerful, damn it. "What's so funny?"

Asuka shrugged, his handsome face still drawn up in a wide smirk. "I was just thinking that I really should be feeling sorry for Sakura-sama right now, but then again I find myself feeling more worried for Gaara-sama instead."

It was rather obvious that Asuka was lying blatantly; the man hardly looked worried at all. Why, he was doing that irritating grinning thing again that never failed to set Shun off.

"Really, I'm glad you find this entire situation very amusing." The look on the stoic commander's face was so sour that Asuka's grin widened further. Disgustedly, Shun thought that Asuka was smiling so hard that he was surprised his jaw muscles didn't cramp up. Even after five years of working closely together, the brunette still had trouble adjusting to the seemingly carefree attitude that belonged to his partner.

"Trust me, I am." Asuka drawled in a retorting manner. "Heh, I'm also struck by how entertaining today had been, and it's only Sakura-sama's first official day in Suna too. I wonder what kind of trouble she would be up to tomorrow? It would be most amusing to watch; don't you think, you old stick in the mud?"

Shun twitched, then quickly recovered his serious façade.

"Good." The annoyed brunette deadpanned. "Then I'm sure that you would be most willing to watch over Sakura-sama from now on."

* * *

At exactly the same moment, the atmosphere within the confines of the conference room was nowhere near as cheery or as lighthearted as the one outside.

No, it was all Sakura could do not to pitch a tantrum of epic proportions. In other words, it was so very tempting for the aggravated kunoichi to just focus her chakra, lift her foot and stomp the Kazekage's brand new, state-of-the-art offices into bits of useless rubbles and smithereens. Sakura refrained, of course. That would have been such an unladylike thing to do, and what would shishou say?

Drawing a deep, shuddering breath, Sakura decided to get to the bottom of this entire farce before she did something painfully drastic.

"Gaara…" Her voice came out all growly and annoyed even though she honestly tried to keep her temper in check. "You have one minute to explain this…this—just what is going on here?!"

In response, Gaara merely looked at her steadily, a slightly probing expression on his face. "Temari once said that women love weddings. If you do not feel the same way, we could just proceed straight to the mating itself."

Nobody ever said that Gaara was one to beat around the bush, but still, that was definitely _not_ what she had expected him to say.

Sakura goggled at him. Honest to god, she _goggled_. The kunoichi did not know how to reply to the redhead's seemingly nonchalant response. In fact, the poor female looked as if she had just been hit hard on the head.

"Oh god." Sakura could only mutter in growing distress. "You are serious, aren't you? This isn't at all a joke; _you actually told your people that we were going to get married_?!"

Sakura really didn't mean to roar out the question. She really hadn't meant to, but she was just so frazzled at the moment that her outraged bellow seemed hardly significant compared to what was happening to her now. It was a good thing that Gaara was a really stalwart sort of shinobi and didn't even bat an eye over Sakura's loss of control, nor did he even appear annoyed by the fact that the kunoichi looked very appalled at the notion of getting herself hitched to him, not to mention mated.

No, the bloody man had the gall to _shrug_ at her.

"You are mine." Gaara announced impassively, as if she was just a pair of socks. Sakura burned with growing fury. "It is only morally acceptable that I claim you as such and marry you."

Sakura could only gape at the audacity of the man with furious disbelief. Now he made her sound like some unwanted old maid who should only be too grateful that he was generously offering to marry her.

Sakura could only be too grateful if he dropped dead right before her now, that _stupid, bloody, arrogant…ass_!!

"Gaara…" Sakura's voice was thick with warning and increasing agitation. "In case you haven't noticed, I have never agreed to marry you!! How could you just go and announce something like this to the whole world?!" The kunoichi cried out in dismay.

"I did not announce this to the whole world, as you have so exaggeratedly put it." Gaara corrected mildly even as Sakura wondered why this irritating redhead was always picking the most mundane topics to talk about when he was supposed to focus on the important one at hand. "I merely informed the village council yesterday when they were curious enough to ask about you."

Now Sakura could only stare at him with blatant disbelief in her eyes. Was he that dense or was he simply just unaware of the councilmen's tendencies to gossip like old fishwives? And that prompted yet another aggravating realization for the aggrieved pink-haired female.

"…_Yesterday_?" Sakura whispered almost hoarsely. Angry emerald snapped up to glare at calm jade. Suddenly, it was all Sakura could do not to scream with frustration. "You told your people yesterday, but didn't even bother to inform me about it? Were you even planning to tell me at all? Or were you just hoping that I would realize what was happening all by myself by the time I was standing beside you before the alter?!"

Expectedly, Gaara did not appreciate her sarcasm. The powerful Kazekage crossed his arms before his chest unrepentantly and frowned at his over dramatic mate. He really did not understand why she was making such a big fuss over this. Their union had been expected; even her Hokage had hinted at an inter-village marriage between the two of them. Gaara didn't understand why she had appeared so surprised and angered.

"I would have informed you about it later today."

He would have not, actually. It was really the truth that Gaara had forgotten all about Sakura and also the fact that he was no longer a bachelor and thus had also lost the right to not answer to anyone regarding all the decisions that he had made. However, the male was fortunately not obtuse enough to admit his glaring oversight to the furious little kunoichi.

Unfortunately though, Sakura did not seem to look like she believed him one bit. She shook her head at him and looked as if she wanted to speak before she thought better of it. The kunoichi looked every bit as upset as she felt, and it was all Sakura could do not to storm out of this room and try to find her way back to Konoha immediately. She had been tricked; she just knew it. This was clearly _not_ what she had expected when she had agreed to come here!!

"I'm not going to do it." Sakura announced obstinately at last, her eyes glinting with pure stubbornness. "I'm not going to marry you, Gaara."

To his credit, the redhead took her fierce refusal calmly. Sourly, the pink-haired female thought that he probably didn't care one way or another.

"Why?"

Delicate pink brows drew quickly together to form an aggressive frown.

"Why?" Sakura echoed his blank question back at him, not really believing that he actually needed her to spell everything out for him. "You didn't even ask!! How was I supposed to accept a marriage proposal that never happened?" The kunoichi cried out, starting to get upset again. "And before you say anything else," She snapped angrily, blushing a furious red of embarrassment despite her increasing agitation. "this also means that I am not going to mate you or whatever it is that you hope to do!! We are going to be mates in name only, and we are not going to sleep together ever again!!"

Even as it belatedly occurred to Sakura that she was sounding remarkably like an angry wife who was withholding sexual favors from a particularly errant husband, it didn't really surprise her much this time when Gaara gave her his very predictable answer.

"No." The powerful Suna-nin put his foot down resolutely, and the equally stubborn glint in Gaara's jade eyes really didn't bode well for Sakura's passionate decision. That didn't mean she was going to give up the fight just like that though. The aggravated female proceeded to puff up with anger.

"And why not?" Sakura demanded immediately, immensely frustrated with how everything was just not going her way today. "You can't stop me!!"

It was a rather childish comeback, but the kunoichi would be damned if that bloody irritating man got it into his head that he was going to be allowed to control every aspect of her life from now on.

Gaara merely looked calmly at the furious female, and Sakura could not help but bristle even more when she interpreted that impassive stare as his acceptance of her unwitting challenge.

"You are my mate." Gaara spoke clearly, intense jade eyes all but pinning her on the spot. "You will sleep in no one else's bed but mine."

Sakura swore that if she turned any redder she would have self-combusted on the spot. Just like before, she opened her mouth as if wanting to say something but closed it again when she just couldn't find the words. Never in her life had she been spoken to with such raw possessiveness, and as much as she hated to admit it, a secret thrill ran down her spine and Sakura flushed for an entirely different reason this time.

"I…I am my own person, thank you very much." Sakura stammered defiantly. "And as I said before, you can't stop me from choosing where to sleep!" The kunoichi repeated mulishly.

Gaara arched a brow.

"Do you really believe that?" He asked her in a deceptively quiet manner. Sakura stiffened.

"I am not your prisoner." She was starting to look slightly hunted, and Gaara quickly decided that he did not like to see her appear so wary of him. He had to finish this particular conversation soon before she became even more distraught. Silently contemplating all the possible things he had said that might have served to cause his mate distress, Gaara quickly sought to calm down his capricious mate.

"You are not my prisoner." His abrupt admission didn't seem to have much effect on the aggravated female, unfortunately. If anything, she frowned harder at him.

Of course she knew that!! Stupid Gaara!! She didn't need him to confirm to her just what her status here was!!

"You are my mate," Jade eyes focused intently upon upset emerald ones. "And as such you are very important to me."

Sakura stared at the redhead for a long time. His declaration had been impassive at most, even reluctant, as if he didn't like to be reminded that he needed her. Sakura's aggravation faded away somewhat. Immediately she was reminded that neither of them would have wanted to be in this situation were they allowed a choice. Gaara's had been taken away from him even before he was born and as for her... The Shukaku wanted her for Gaara, and that's that.

Of course she knew that she was important to him that way, but she had been making so much sacrifices already; leaving behind all she held dear in Konoha and moving over to his country, accepting the fact that she was going to have to readjust to a village so vastly different from her own, not to mention that she was now going to be irrevocably tied to Gaara and there was no going back.

She was young; she had so many hopes and dreams and ambitions just waiting to be fulfilled but because of this sudden complication that came in the form of Gaara, it was highly likely that she was going to have to give up a lot of them. Just thinking of it all made her feel so weary, and even more distressed than ever. Now that the initial shock of finding herself the mate of none other than the powerful Godaime Kazekage had faded, the overwhelming stress was starting to exert itself on her, not to mention all the life altering choices that she was going to have to face in the near future.

Sakura really didn't want to fight Gaara now. She had more than enough on her plate as it is. Couldn't they just reach a compromise?

"The Shukaku would allow me proper rest only when you are beside me." Gaara admitted quietly then. Sakura lifted her head immediately to stare at him with surprise. "Jiraiya of the Sannin may have altered the holding seal to be more stable but the Tanuki demon is still prevalent over my mind, although it is no longer as volatile and I am able to ignore its more violent tendencies."

Emerald eyes widened slightly as the hidden revelation uncovered itself. She had known, of course, that Gaara had not been sleeping much ever since the day he was born, for the Shukaku within would eat away his personality if he dared allow the tailed demon free reign over his mind. But what really stunned her was the sheer importance of her role in this entire situation.

_He really needed her. _

This wasn't just some sudden whim from a demented demon, nor was it merely just a political alliance in the making. This was something more. As much as Gaara hated to admit it, having her by his side would make his life infinitely easier.

The kunoichi knew that it must have been hard on him, to be deprived of one of the most basic—and important functions of the human anatomy. Had she been in his position, she didn't think that she would have survived, let alone remained as sane as he had for so many years. Abruptly, the proud and fierce warrioress that was the pink haired kunoichi faltered as the gentle and sweet-tempered healer took over. Compassion entered Sakura's vibrant eyes, and if she thought of things in Gaara's point of view, suddenly her own sacrifices didn't seem anywhere as arduous or as significant as what he had been forced to go through all his life.

Yet, after all that was said and done, Sakura was only human; and only possessing a human's nature. It was still hard to accept what she had been chosen to do, still so very hard for her to let go of her own dreams and desires for another.

"Why…me?" Though a lot more subdued than before, Sakura was still as bewildered as ever. "There are so many other girls out there…so why choose me?"

For a long moment, Gaara did not answer her. Just when she thought that he had no intention of replying her at all, he spoke.

"Your scent."

Sakura looked at him with more than a little confusion in her eyes, her growing melancholy momentarily forgotten. "Huh?"

Her scent? What does that have to do with all this?

"Tanuki are from the canine family. We are very scent orientated. Your scent has always stood out from among the rest even when we were Genin." The redhead confirmed firmly as he started to move towards the wide-eyed female. "It was hard not to notice you."

The look in his eyes was so intense that Sakura found it hard to breathe. Her heart thudded almost frantically in her chest, and the kunoichi felt as though he had just used the Kanashibari on her.

"That's…why I was chosen?" Sakura stammered, finding it hard to concentrate on Gaara's words with him looking at her like that.

The powerful Kazekage took yet another step towards his petite mate, his jade gaze never leaving her beautiful, heart-shaped face.

"You have fought tenaciously to save us five years ago." Sakura was mildly disconcerted by the way he addressed himself, and it slowly occurred to her that the Shukaku within must be giving him the answers to her question. "We remembered your scent very well, especially the way it had sharpened from desperation to pure distress when we almost didn't make it. _You cared_."

Another small step towards the shell-shocked little female.

"You are different from the others, and it had been obvious to us almost right from the very beginning, little lioness. So fiercely you protect those whom you care for, and we know that you would never do anything to harm us. You are a worthy and a priceless mate, and _we have been looking for you for a long time_."

One last step and Gaara was now so near the motionless kunoichi that she could scent the sweet smell of grass that was purely him. The heat that he was exuding was unmistakable and provoking, and Sakura's breath hitched in her throat. Her wide emerald eyes locked with his, and what she saw within those jade depths was such sheer masculine possession that Sakura did not know how to react. No man had ever looked at her this way before, and Sakura started to tremble slightly, her breathing shaky and her cheeks flushed. To her increasing confusion, she found herself dazedly leaning towards his warmth and lanky physique.

Gods, what kind of spell was he weaving around her senses?! He was successfully entrapping her to him, and there was nothing she could do about it! Worse still was the fact that she didn't think she would have done anything to stop whatever it was that Gaara was doing to her even if she had the choice.

Eyes still locked with his, Sakura's lips parted slightly as the air around her suddenly became so heavy and stuffy.

Gaara lifted a hand and touched her cheek so gently that Sakura barely felt it. She was too enthralled by the almost warm gaze coming from his normally distant jade eyes. The kunoichi found herself instinctively turning into his touch, and the way his eyes flared with response to her telling action did not go unnoticed by her. Sakura pinkened and immediately tried to pull away but her mate was not having any of it. With a strong arm that had snaked around her waist without even her noticing it, the taller redhead tugged her gently against his chest and Sakura could only emit a soft squeak of surprise when he suddenly lowered his head and pressed his face against the crook of her neck, his nose gently nudging against her rapidly fluttering pulse point.

Dazed by his unexpectedly affectionate behavior, Sakura thought vaguely that if she stiffened some more she would probably shatter into a million little pieces.

And so she started to relax slowly into his warm embrace, feeling strangely protected and safe within the circle of his arms. A small rumble coming from his chest quickly told her that he approved of her action, and slightly emboldened, Sakura tilted her head slightly more to the side to allow him better access to her slender neck.

He promptly rewarded her gentle acquiesce by giving her neck a tentative lick, and Sakura jolted at the pleasurable contact. The soft, surprised mewl that escaped from her lips had her feeling so abashed that she immediately buried her face against his shoulder.

She inhaled deeply, taking in as much of his wonderful scent as possible and somehow, the assuring thuds of his heartbeats lulled her to a soothing calm, as if telling her that everything would work out perfectly in the end. Strange, but she had never felt this sort of peacefulness with anyone before. She found that she liked this feeling a lot.

The pink-haired kunoichi released a soft, shuddering sigh as she allowed herself to relax completely against the redhead, fully trusting him to keep her upright. Her unconscious body language was not lost on Gaara at all, and he felt himself become less tensed as well, her soothing scent of sweet strawberries working effectively to put himself and his demon at ease.

The mismatched couple stayed that way for awhile, and then Gaara spoke.

"Marry me."

It wasn't exactly an uncertain question; in fact, if Sakura were to be more precise she would have said that it was a command. Oddly enough, she wasn't offended at all this time around. After spending the past week traveling with Gaara, she was smart enough to realize that this was his way of apologizing to her. It was his compromise to her, and Sakura was strangely overjoyed to know that he was at least willing to give her this much.

Sakura didn't know what the future might bring for them both, or whether if anything would develop between the two of them with the passing of time but at the moment everything looked brighter to her; more positive. The way he enfolded her in his arms made her feel so secure and warm, and his (almost) proposal had made it clear to her that he had understood what she had been distressed about, and had been willing enough to help alleviate her worries.

She was no longer the dreamy little twelve year-old from so long ago. She was a full-fledged kunoichi now, and was realistic enough to understand that she had been luckier than most and that her current situation could have been a lot worse. At least, both Gaara and herself shared a mutual respect for each other, and if she looked at her situation again with a more positive light, maybe this mission wouldn't be as horrible as she had first thought.

The kunoichi pulled back slightly to look into the eyes of the man whom she had just decided to give her trust to. Brilliant emeralds glistening with growing courage and a little bit of something else that could not be defined just yet, Sakura decided to take a blind leap of faith with Gaara. Mentally preparing herself for the new lease of life that she was about to unleash upon herself, Sakura gave the redhead a small, quiet nod.

"Alright."

* * *

When the Kazekage and his mate stepped out from the conference room forty-five minutes later, the two commanders of his personal guards immediately turned discreetly to the petite kunoichi to judge if the couple had successfully settled their differences. Both knew better than to try to decipher the utterly impassive look that was normally on their Kage's face; unless Gaara was angry enough to stir the Shukaku, it was nigh on impossible to derive any sort of answer from their seemingly emotionless leader.

To their surprise, the little pink-haired female looked unexpectedly tranquil as she walked sedately beside their powerful Kage. The distressed look that had been painted on her face earlier was nowhere in sight, and the two guards exchanged quick glances of identical surprise.

It seemed that their stoic Kazekage was more adept at calming down near hysterical and furious females than they had originally thought.

Asuka's blue eyes danced with amusement even as an exasperated Shun shook his head slightly and headed off to the nearest window. One shrill call of a certain desert hawk later, the two teams of Jounin guards were once again reassembled before the Kazekage. They bowed to their leader and received a small nod of recognition in return.

Because of the fact that Gaara absolutely refused to be surrounded by guards whenever he was in public, it didn't take long before the Jounin dispersed once again, leaving behind only a single team as well as the two commanders. After receiving a few concise instructions from the unexpectedly serious Asuka, even the remaining team of three ninjas flickered discreetly out of sight, and once more Asuka and Shun were the only duo left to actively undertake the duty of watching over their two important charges.

The village councilmen and advisors had long since vacated the building and the four of them managed to exit Gaara's offices with no interruptions whatsoever. Once they reached the main streets though, it was an entirely different story.

If Sakura still had any lingering doubts whether she of the Leaf would be readily accepted into the village of the Sand, they were all immediately put to rest. To put it mildly, the villagers were so thrilled by the news of their Kazekage's impending nuptials that both Sakura and Gaara quickly found themselves nearly mobbed and run over by the well-meaning citizens of Suna as they made their way to lunch. Sakura had been slightly overwhelmed by all the congratulations and well wishes that all these virtual strangers were heaping onto her but what had surprised her even more was the fact that Gaara had appeared almost…_genial_ towards his people when she had clearly expected for him to do something more drastic and dangerous—like call up his Shield of Sand—the moment they started to crowd him. Instead, the redhead had cordially accepted each and every one of their best wishes even as Shun and Asuka worked quickly to clear a path among the mass of people for them.

Gaara had also kept her close to him the entire while; and the picture of him with an arm casually wrapped around her slim waist was evidently enough for Suna's newest couple to charm all who were present. Sakura had flushed a most becoming shade of pink when an obaa-san commented on how cute they both looked together, and everyone had laughed when the kunoichi ducked her head in shy embarrassment.

"I feel like I am deceiving your people." Sakura muttered went the crowds had finally abated and they were all well on their way back to the Kazekage's residence. Visiting a restaurant or an eatery for lunch had proved to be impossible now, for it was obvious that they would have spent more time interacting with other people than filling their stomachs, and at last, Gaara had ordered for them to return home.

"Why?" Walking soundlessly beside her, Gaara turned his jade eyes to watch her calmly. Both Asuka and Shun had gone on ahead awhile ago, no doubt to return to the manor in advance to warn the kitchen staff of their arrival. That didn't mean both Sakura and Gaara were unguarded though; the pink-haired kunoichi could vaguely sense the presence of the earlier three guards tailing them discreetly.

"Well," Sakura looked mildly uncomfortable as she spoke. "It is obvious that they think we are in love."

Gaara looked curiously at his blushing mate. Her cheeks were dusted a light pink and she was biting her lip in embarrassment. It occurred to the redhead that she was always turning colors one way or another, be it angry or shy or…_aroused_…and he quickly decided that he found it rather appealing; this particular trait of hers.

"Why do you care about what they think?"

Sakura sputtered. "I-I do not!! I mean…we are not!! In love, that is!"

The pink-haired kunoichi proceeded to pull a grimace on her face when she realized how she was mucking up her own explanation. Jade eyes glinted with hidden amusement.

"We are not?"

Sakura promptly choked. The poor female quickly coughed desperately to right herself again before turning incredulous, panicked eyes to Gaara. "Of course not!" She squeaked out at last, emerald eyes wide. "We don't even know each other that well!! And er…er…"

The gleam in Gaara's eyes was simply unmistakable by then, and Sakura stopped in her tracks to stare at him. She placed her hands on her hips in a universal gesture of irritation and started to frown something fierce at the redhead Kazekage, who too had stopped when she had. "You are joking, aren't you?!" she demanded at last, her eye twitching a little.

Of course, Gaara admitted to no such thing, but Sakura knew better. Oh, the impossible redhead was still looking as impassive as ever, but she could never mistake that blatant masculine amusement in his eyes, as rare as it was to actually see it on him. Even as it occurred to her that he looked even more attractive than ever with that almost playful glint in his beautiful jade eyes, Sakura huffed with mild annoyance and shook a finger at him. Cheeks reddening again for a different reason this time, the pink-haired kunoichi started to lecture the irritating male.

"You have a seriously warped sense of humor, Gaara. Is this something all Kage have in common? Shishou found the oddest things funny as well, and you know what?! You are just like her! This was not funny at all!!"

"Is that so?" The tall Suna-nin was looking at her so closely that Sakura nearly 'eep'-ed. Her eyes widened. Gaara was suddenly so near that she could clearly see the slivers of hazel in his irises. A small, almost imperceptible smirk lightened his features, and Sakura froze. He looked so dangerously predatory at the moment that Sakura had no idea how to react to him. "I thought that your reaction was rather amusing myself."

Then, while Sakura was busy gaping at the totally uncharacteristic mischievousness that Gaara was displaying, said redhead proceeded to calmly stroll down the quiet street, nonchalant as can be.

His little mate was just too fun to tease; the powerful Kazekage was starting to realize it now. Maybe it was the fact that he allowed too little of it and she just had too much, but he really enjoyed watching her volatile reactions. Maybe having someone like her beside him wasn't going to be as tedious as he had first thought.

On the other hand, it took the shell-shocked Sakura a good minute to recover, and to process Gaara's nonchalant remark. The poor female just could not believe that he (_the_ stoic, impassive, dispassionate Kazekage of Suna) of all people just had to show her that he actually possessed a sense of humor now, of all the time to do so. By the time she could properly react, the bloody man was already halfway down the street and disappearing rapidly.

Sakura could only twitch with annoyance—and growing disbelief.

"Damn it, Gaara!! Wait for me!" She hurried after the quickly diminishing form of the redhead when it became clear to her that he wasn't planning to slow down, growling indignities under her breath the entire while. "_And that wasn't funny too!!_"

In response, the odious male merely turned around to look at her, the slight smirk and rich masculine amusement obvious to her even from a distance. Sakura narrowed her eyes and huffed loudly. It was all she could do not to stomp her feet in a fit of temper and judging by the slight glint in his eyes, he knew it too, that Shukaku-hosting _ass_.

The pink-haired kunoichi proceeded to twitch once more when her treacherous inner self slyly commented about how good-looking this particular piece of ass was, nevertheless. By then, Sakura could wish for nothing better than for some kind soul to pass by and knock her unconscious. Gaara was not even acting like he was supposed to!! How was she supposed to behave accordingly around him when he was changing attitudes and moods faster than she could change clothes?

Just who the hell was this enigma whom she had agreed to marry?

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	9. Chapter 9

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Beta-ed by: **FallenTenshi, MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5922

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 09/08/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Nine

* * *

The next few days proved to be the busiest and most hectic time Sakura had ever experienced in her entire life.

The young kunoichi had never planned a wedding before, and when she was informed that it was going to be a seven days and seven nights affair with the whole of Suna (and probably a little bit more) involved, she nearly fainted from the shock of it all.

Predictably, Gaara was nowhere nearby when the elders dropped the bomb on her that night after dinner, that darned man. No, he had excused himself the moment the old biddies appeared, to go off on 'Kage business.' If this was part of Gaara's promised plan to protect her, Sakura was certainly not impressed.

Fortunately for Sakura, she was not totally alone. Temari had been present and so was a mildly bemused Kankurou. The painted Jounin had just returned from a mission that evening and to say that he had been surprised by the identity of Gaara's mate would be an understatement. He recovered quickly though, and he had heartily welcomed the pink-haired kunoichi into the family with a wide smile. "Maybe we will have a more normal household from now on!", the older male declared as he grinned at Sakura, never mind the fact that not one of them was the least bit normal and that said kunoichi possessed the strength of a hundred men combined, and a temper to match.

The two Sabaku siblings looked on with partial amusement, and a large degree of sympathy, as a clearly unprepared Sakura was forced to deal with every little aspect of planning an 

impromptu wedding (her own at that), varying from arranging the different menus for all of the seven days of festivities to managing the impossibly lengthy guest list that simply seemed unending to Sakura's increasingly frazzled mind. For hours on end, she was cloistered inside the massive living room within the Kazekage estate with nothing but plans and more plans littering the entire area. An endless flow of caterers, messengers and Suna's best artisans from all walks of life hurried in and out all the time, and there was always something that required the pink-haired kunoichi's attention, be it the fitting of her wedding costume or the extremely delicate process of accommodations and seating arrangements for the visiting dignitaries.

It was really a good thing that there were always a few elders around to consult with, not to mention the full support of Kankurou and Temari, both of whom had a deeper knowledge of Suna and its political climate with various villages than she had at the moment, having stood in for Gaara at some point or another whenever their younger brother had to leave Suna to visit other hidden villages.

However, they could only offer to help so much. Whereas poor Sakura was stuck in the living room and only ever let out for mealtimes and short breaks, the Sabaku siblings had their own duties to see to within the village and could only drop by for quick periods at a time. Also, her husband-to-be was proving to be about as helpful as his conspicuous absence during the entire planning process. As much as Sakura wanted to begrudge him for tossing her to the wolves, she was also aware that he had more important things to see to, namely the day-to-day running of his thriving village, as well as the many other details and paperwork that required his attention, especially the delegation of his shinobi forces, not to mention the unceasing political correspondence with fellow Kage as well as leaders and daimyos from various villages and countries.

Still, her understanding towards Gaara's many obligations could only serve her thus far. In the end, Sakura could only rely upon herself, as well as her recollections of all of shishou's teachings when it came to politics…

…which wasn't necessarily as impressive as the elders on Suna's village council were led to believe, for the Godaime Hokage-sama was also rather well-known among all her shinobi ranks for being squirrelly as hell when it came to paperwork and dealing with foreign emissaries.

Fortunately though, the elders mostly appeared to be rather satisfied by the choices that she had made so far; some becoming even more so when she explained her reasons for making several particularly unorthodox decisions, much to Sakura's inner relief. The last thing she needed during this exhausting period was for the backbone of Suna's society to deem her foolish, unaware of the 'big picture' and bad at making even the simplest of decisions, and then take it up with their Kazekage while they were at it. Sakura was most determined to make this relationship with Gaara work; she had already given her word to try her best and that was exactly what she would do.

Currently, all eyes were set upon her; Suna's tradition dictates that the brides of all Kazekage were encouraged to be as actively involved in the planning of the matrimonial ceremony as possible, and although Sakura had a nagging suspicion that the custom had once been borne out of sheer necessity more than anything else, she was also aware that the extent of her participation, as well as the eventual success of the wedding festivities, was going to mean a lot more than she had originally thought in passing.

Just like how Gaara was carefully and meticulously leading his country through the politics-infested minefield that was the world at large every single day he entered his office, Sakura was similarly expected to be just as savvy as her counterpart, and it was imperative for her to eventually learn to take charge of some of the internal politics of the village so as to be able to help lessen the burden for her mate.

Yes, Sakura was beginning to understand the true meaning behind this particular 'tradition'.

It was a test, of sorts, given to her by the village, and if she played her cards right, her efforts now were going to yield a lot of fruit in the future.

Besides, Sakura had always been one to rise to the challenge; anything else would be a disgrace to her country and Hokage, not to mention her own nindo, her personal code of honor.

Gaara would be unable to help her here; the ingenuity of the test would ensure that only her true mettle would be measured and nothing else.

How well could she stand under immense pressure before she cracked, her sense of independence and confidence, how well she could respond to a situation without the continuous guidance of her lord and husband, how smart and sensible her decisions were—and more.

It didn't take long for Sakura to understand that the elders weren't only there to help her—they were also there to judge her abilities, it seemed.

But Sakura would indulge them, because she understood what they wanted—and why.

Life in the village of Suna was a lot harsher than life in other hidden villages. Resources were scarce, and only a little while ago, so was manpower. Generally, the leaders of Suna had to work harder than the leaders of any other villages in order to compensate, and maybe the spouses of the other four Kage need not contribute as much back to the village, but in Suna, everything came down to ability.

The pink-haired kunoichi was aware that she had to pull her own weight, maybe even more, in order to gain complete acceptance and respect from the people of Sand. Right now, Sakura knew that they were letting her into their ranks only out of respect for their Kazekage, who had single-handedly rescued the village from poverty and despair, and maybe as well the fact that she was from Konoha, one of their strongest allies.

Other than that, she was still a stranger who had not only invaded their land, but had also in one fell swoop claimed one of their most eligible bachelors, not to mention the pride of Suna; arguably their most powerful Kazekage to have ever existed so far in the entire history of Sand.

Sakura was a rather intelligent kunoichi; in a situation like this, to alienate herself from the village council would not be a smart thing to do. It would be better for her to show the elders of her new home that she was more of an asset than a liability, and in return, the assurance that she was worthy enough for their Kazekage, that she had a level head on her shoulders and was not likely to endanger their leader in any way, was probably what all they wanted from her.

Well, that and the fact that she appeared to be rather proficient in handling paperwork as well.

Sakura really didn't know whether to curse or praise all those dumb moments of being tricked by her wily mentor into going through the stacks of official documents that the Hokage herself was supposed to be in charge of. At any rate, her past efforts seemed to be paying off greatly now, and Sakura decided at last to be reluctantly grateful for having pulled all those long all-nighters.

Time also seemed to pass quickly when there was an impending dateline hovering threateningly in the near horizon, but despite the overwhelming stress (so many things to do, so little time!), Sakura took it all in stride. At least, she tried as best as she could to cope with what needed to be done. The political impact of her union with Gaara was something the village council of Suna was most intent to publicize to the rest of the world, which was the main reason why there was no choice but for her to plan and host such an elaborate and expensive wedding celebration; their marriage would signify not only the binding of two people, but the joining of two powerful villages as well.

It would benefit both Sand and Leaf for the world to know of this strengthened alliance.

After all, Suna was no longer at the bottom of the food chain. With Kiri still steeped in civil unrest from the bloodline massacres and Iwa not yet recovered from the last Secret Shinobi War, Suna had been competing successfully with the top dogs for the past five years or so and had quickly ascended the ranks to become one of the stronger hidden villages in the world, second only to Konoha, and maybe Kumo.

Konoha's support was just going to help deter enemies of both Leaf and Sand from starting potential wars or skirmishes with both countries. Suna's warriors were quickly becoming well known for being ruthless and efficient, whereas Konoha had always had all the natural resources it needed and more at its disposal, not to mention a powerful military force that was second to none. And that was only the power of their individual villages. Adding the shinobi forces of all the smaller hidden villages that were allied to Suna and Konoha, enemies of the alliance were going to have to think twice before launching an attack on the two major countries in the world.

So, no, this was not just another atypical wedding celebration. A lot more hinged on her marriage to Gaara, and for the sake and continued peace for both of their countries, Sakura was constantly under pressure to perform to the best of her abilities. After all, the more lavish and opulent the ceremony was, the more outsiders would be led to the inevitable understanding that both Sand and Leaf were holding nothing back when it came to securing their alliance, that it was of the highest priority for both countries, and attempts to sabotage it would not be tolerated.

Her personal promise to herself to be less of a hindrance and more of a help to Gaara aside, Sakura was also determined not to disappoint Konoha, as well as not to disappoint her shishou and beloved friends. It was important for both countries to come to a formal understanding with each other, and this wedding was going to be the ink on the paper that would permanently link both Sand and Leaf together.

Oh, that didn't mean that Sakura had embraced her new duties with open arms at first. To be honest, a small part of her greatly resented this huge responsibility that had been abruptly dropped upon her lap. With her marriage to Gaara, her life was never going to be the same again. She would become a political figure, there would be no more dangerous missions and visits to other villages without express permission from the village council _and_ Gaara, and it was highly possible that her every deed was going to be put under intense scrutiny, which meant that she was going to have to be very careful about what she did and what she talked about in the future, as well as the people whom she would be seen with. Every little action was going to cause a repercussion of some sort, and initially, the more Sakura mulled about it, the more stressed she felt about her new life.

She had never asked to be put in this position. She had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and as much as Sakura wanted to pin the blame on Gaara, she was well aware that it wasn't his fault at all; like her, it wasn't of his choosing to be shackled to her. What Shukaku wanted, Shukaku got, and logic dictated that even if their meeting hadn't taken place on that fateful day in the forests, it would have happened eventually, and there was simply no way that their paths wouldn't have crossed for the rest of their lives. Like it or not, the position of the Kazekage's Lady was hers, and it only took less than half a day of gloomy unhappiness before her dour mood irritated her into smacking some sense into herself.

Mentally, of course.

Shun and his team had been looking at her funny already; she didn't need them to think that she was really crazy as well. Angst and thoughts of despair were good and all, but moping could not change anything, and that bitter lesson was something Sakura had learned a long time ago.

Sad thoughts of the ghost of an old teammate aside, that was exactly how Sakura slowly regained the fierce spirit that made her such a formidable kunoichi and powerful ally, only that she was going to learn how to channel that raw, never-say-die energy to dealing with not missions or assignments, but to tackling and ironing out various village issues and responsibilities instead. If she really wanted things to work out, she was going to have to do it with her own two hands. With that line of thought, it really didn't take much else for her to decide to make the best out of her situation. Instead of seeing herself as someone who was trapped in a position she never wanted in the first place, Sakura closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and started to look at the situation in another point of view.

And what she realized gave her hope—as well as a goal to work towards.

With her new position as the Kazekage's Lady, suddenly, she found herself with the authority _and power_ to change things around, to improve lives, to make her contribution to her villages count.

Suna _and_ Konoha

The supreme will of a Kage was to protect, and Sakura realized that was exactly what she wanted to help Gaara accomplish. Help him and Naruto, the future Rokudaime Hokage, ensure that there would be peace for as long as they could manage it, so that children would never have to go to war, so that families would never be ripped asunder by death and destruction, so that her most precious people and all their precious people would always be protected and cherished.

Sakura had made her choice, and after some thought, she realized that it really wasn't such a difficult decision after all.

Instead of bemoaning her fate and loss of freedom as a kunoichi, the pink-haired female had decided to be productive instead; she was not going to sit around, grow fat and lazy. No, she would learn how to fulfill her duties and she would learn how to do them well. Suna was going to be her village, _already was her village_, and she wanted nothing more than to serve it to the best of her abilities, as well as help Gaara in any way that she could.

The responsibilities of a Kage were always far from simple, and never-ending, and Sakura could not imagine that it was easier for her mate to look after Sand compared to Tsunade looking over Konoha. She had been living in Suna for only a little less than a week, but already she could see how dedicated Gaara was to his beloved village. While she was stuck with the wedding preparations, he would normally leave for his office in the early mornings and return to the Kage estate long after midnight, and it was obvious to her that he would have gladly worked himself into the ground if it meant that Suna would become even stronger and more prosperous than it already was. Looking at him now, the half-insane, self-loving and blood-thirsting pre-teen during their first Chuunin Exam seemed like almost a dream, a small reminder of how close he had come to giving in completely to his inner demons.

The fact that he had changed so much made Sakura respect him even more. His changes hadn't occurred overnight; he had probably fought tooth and nail, shed blood and sweat, in order to get to where he was now. To gain respect from his people, to trust others again, to learn to love the very village that had once feared and shunned him, to protect his precious people.

Even though Sakura had not been the one to influence him to change from his earlier mistaken ways (that had been Naruto's job and he had done it exceedingly well), she was more than willing to help now, in any way that she could. After all, two heads were better than one; two sets of shoulders bearing the same burden would make the weight of an entire village lighter. If he would let her, Sakura would give her all to support him.

After all, she was part of his family now, and whether he liked it or not, she always looked after those who belonged to her.

Naruto, Kakashi, Tsunade…

And now, there was him as well, this powerful, enigmatic man whose position in her life was still not fully established.

Ally, yes. Friend, yes. Husband, yes.

Would there be more between them? Sakura was not sure. She knew that they had mutual respect for each other, but would that be enough? Did she want more?

Once again, she was really unsure. It was true that they shared the same bedroom, but that was it. He didn't touch her inappropriately, and in return she wasn't trying to kill him for being a pervert. But yet, whenever his callused fingers touched her bare skin, it spread a strange sort of warmth _within_ her, and Sakura really had no idea what to make of it.

Either way, it was definitely still too early to tell what was going on between them, let alone try to speculate about her confused emotions.

Sakura decided that she would do her best for Gaara, and for now, that would have to be more than enough.

* * *

"Gaara-sama."

Asuka materialized soundlessly before the main door of the Kazekage estate the very moment his leader arrived with Shun and his team in tow. The blue-haired male bowed once, and then stepped aside to allow Gaara into the house first.

The redheaded Godaime Kazekage frowned subtly as he entered the building. It was already two in the morning. For Asuka to still be on guard, it would mean that Sakura was still awake and about the house. The light crease between his brows deepened.

"Are the elders still here?" he asked quietly.

Asuka shook his head even as Shun dismissed his team and then turned to follow the conversation.

"They left four hours ago, Gaara-sama." Without waiting for his Kage to ask, Asuka continued speaking. "Sakura-sama is still in the living area, seeing to the bridal plans."

"I see." Nothing more needed to be said, and as Shun excused himself to see to the security of the estate parameters for the night, Gaara dismissed Asuka, and then he headed soundlessly towards the living room.

The elegant and ornate room normally used to entertain dignitaries from other countries looked as if a bomb had just been detonated within it. Scrolls, papers, and even fabrics littered the entire place from couches to coffee table to floor, and just looking at the general messiness of the area made Gaara flinch inwardly in reaction. Of course, sitting right in the middle of it all was his oblivious fiancée, her shoulder length pink hair tied in a messy ponytail as she appeared for all intents and purposes to be bent over a scrap of paper as she labored industriously on it, so completely concentrated on what she was doing that she hadn't even noticed his entrance.

He stood by the doorframe and watched her for a brief moment. She still didn't appear to sense his presence, and eventually, he started soundlessly into the room. He was halfway across the living area when she finally lifted her head from her work and gazed upon him. Emerald eyes widened slightly in surprise, and then cleared just as quickly.

"You are back." She sounded somewhat bewildered, and it was only when she glanced at the clock mounted on the wall that she realized how late it was. Sakura appeared almost stunned by the time. Gaara frowned imperceptibly at the look on her face, and then his eyes shifted briefly upon the stack of mussed papers by her side.

Just what on earth was she doing to make her lose track of time?

Sakura, who had been sitting unceremoniously on the floor, quickly got up when Gaara approached. Or at least, she tried to. Sakura couldn't quite remember how long she had stayed in that particular position, but it must have been quite some time because, when she tried to stand, she nearly stumbled as her muscles protested the abuse that she had heaped upon them for the past few hours.

Her mate's frown deepened as he stopped silently before her, watching as she corrected her stance and subtly injected soothing chakra into her calves to ease the cramping sensation.

"You are supposed to be asleep by now."

The disapproval in his quiet tone was glaringly obvious, but unfortunately for him, Sakura was not the least threatened. The kunoichi merely leveled a stare at her husband-to-be, brow arched ever so slightly.

"I'm not a little child, Gaara." She responded even as she plopped backwards ungracefully onto the elegant couch, still rubbing her calves absently as she turned her attention from him back to the piece of paper on the table. "Besides, isn't this like the pot calling the kettle black, hmm?"

Predictably, Gaara was not amused. One look at Sakura's tired features made him even less so, and by then, Gaara's frown looked absolutely ferocious. Sakura started slightly when she saw the concentrated look on his face as he stared at her, and belatedly, she quickly realized that she probably wasn't looking her best at the moment.

"Come on," She sighed. "I don't look _that_ bad, do I?"

She was completely missing the point that he was trying to make, or at least cow her into accepting. To his inner incredulity, she even looked as if she was about to continue working on her paperwork, stretching lazily like a cat first before sighing and reaching out towards the coffee table for her list, in the process blatantly ignoring him as well.

The expression on Gaara's face would have been described by Sakura as nonplussed had she actually been looking at him. Since she was not, her redheaded fiancé had the time to school his features into a most austere glower.

However, his stern appearance proved to be wasted on a completely oblivious Sakura, who was currently comparing the list on hand to one of the many open scrolls that seemed to be scattered just about everywhere in the living room. Even as he continued to stare at her in a somewhat aggravated manner (she was ignoring him and he was finding that he did not like it at all), she continued to disregard him, but it didn't appear as if she was doing so intentionally. No, as the Kazekage looked down at his busy mate with a small frown of genuine perplexity, it quickly occurred to him that she was just completely concentrated on the task at hand, never mind that it was already past two in the morning and she would have to be up the same time as he tomorrow in order to deal with the many demands of the village elders.

And as much as he wanted to drag her up to bed, or at least herd her upstairs with his Displeased Aura (both his siblings had mentioned before how even the most fearless of Jounin had quaked inwardly whenever he put on that intimidating expression) so as to ensure that she received the rest that she needed, a brief glance at the absorbed expression on her face had been all it took to inform him that she was probably going to be completely resistant to his efforts if she had a work ethic that in any way resembled his.

It only took a little while for Gaara to choose his next course of action. Whereas he could now rest properly thanks to Jiraiya's improved seals, he was already long used to going without sleep for extended periods of time, having done so for nearly the first seventeen years of his life. Sakura, on the other hand, was not. Judging by the way that she was working almost feverishly, nothing short of knocking her out would convince her to leave this room. It was a good idea actually; just a quick tap to the back of her skull and she would be out like a light, and he could easily cart her up to bed.

However, Gaara was smart enough not to try it. She was bound to be irritable and furious at him come the next morning, and whereas he was considered a rather powerful adversary even without the aid of Shukaku (that life-altering fight with Naruto had awakened him to the fact that his one-tailed Bijuu was _not_ infallible), living with Sakura for the past weeks had alerted him to the fact that she had a dozen other ways of making life extremely uncomfortable for him, and since killing her was not an option, he was learning to be…sensitive, when it came to dealing with her. Well, at least as sensitive as he was capable of, stunted emotions and all, and even that had an appallingly narrow limit.

Unfortunately though, this situation sat perfectly within said limit. Of course, in the event of a dangerous scenario, it would be simple for him to remove her so quickly that she would not be able to emit a word of protest, and even Shukaku would help in that endeavor.

But this was not a dangerous scenario, unless the risk of her encountering a paper cut could be counted as such. The powerful, almighty redheaded Kazekage sighed inwardly. There was only one obvious choice left for him to take, and Sakura was most startled when she felt the space beside her sink slightly under Gaara's weight. She quickly raised her head from her planning to look at him as he sat down by her side.

"You can always go up and rest first, you know." Her remark was dry.

He ignored her comment, and chose instead to lean over slightly to peer at what she was working on. It was too bad for him that, like all reputable medic-nin, her handwriting was so completely illegible that he could not recognize a single word save for the numbers that presided at the front of each bulleted list.

"…what is this?"

Sakura, who had stiffened slightly when her fiancé had so suddenly moved himself over to invade her personal bubble, blinked at his proximity before it occurred to her what he was asking about. She recovered, and then moved herself a little ways away from him as discreetly as she could so as not to be distracted by his presence, before finally replying.

"…wedding plans, what else?"

It was true that Sakura was currently working diligently, carefully poring over every little detail for the perfect Wedding of the Year, but that didn't mean she was relishing in the joy of handling this thankless, tiring and mentally exhausting job. Unfortunately, somebody had to do it, and the village council of Suna had decided that the lucky bride would be it.

And left with no choice, the kunoichi had smiled and took on the unspoken challenge that the elders had given to her, not that she had the luxury of declining in the first place. To do so would imply that she was incapable, which would in turn reflect badly upon Konoha as a whole. Sakura would rather die than admit to any such thing, which was why she had squared her shoulders, taken a deep breath, and prepared herself to weather all the mundane yet important responsibilities that the council of Sand was so eager to offload upon her.

Predictably, she was not disappointed, but it couldn't be _that_ bad, right?

It was.

Now, after an entire week of ceaseless decision making and subtle political maneuvering, it was all Sakura could do not to give up on her exhausting task. Only sheer stubbornness kept her from openly asking the elders for help, and although a small part of her was rather convinced that they had never actually expected for her to last this long, to do so much, Sakura had always been a perfectionist by heart and had always made it a point to see through to the end anything that she had started in the beginning.

In other words, Sakura was completely exhausted, and definitely somewhat grumpy, though her fierce pride _and Inner Sakura_ would never have allowed her to admit it.

However, any pair of discerning eyes could see how hard she had been pushing herself nonstop this entire week, and Gaara's distant jade gaze were as sharp as that of a hunting hawk's. Adding to the fact that he was beginning to understand how she always gave her all whenever she happened to be involved in any situation, just like the time she had came across his poisoned form in the woods, it didn't really surprise him that she was working herself to the bone right now.

It didn't mean that he was pleased about it, all the same.

Sakura, on the other hand, was trying her best to get back to her task at hand; she fully intended to finish her proposal for the elders as well as prepare a long list of instructions to be given to the runners when they arrived first thing in the morning. She was only about three quarters done, but if she hurried, she might be able to cram in two hours worth of sleep before descending again into the chaotic, hellish mess that she had been trapped within for the past week.

Gaara decided that he had had enough of being ignored. The scroll that was currently taking up all her attention was promptly concealed as he placed his palm over its content. Immediately, Sakura made a sound of discontent as she whipped her head quickly towards her irritating redheaded fiancé.

Irate emeralds met calm jade. Despite herself, Sakura felt her stress and agitation fade away slightly under his composed, unruffled stare. Instead of bristling and snapping angrily at Gaara for interrupting her chores, as she was wont to do whenever she was disrupted whilst working feverishly, she sighed heavily, lifted her hand, and gave her face a good scrub. The strain on her features was not lost on him, and he frowned slightly more, even as he made a mental note to ask his counsels tomorrow just what they had been doing to Sakura for the past few days.

The Fifth Generation Wind Shadow had been kept extremely busy for the entire week clearing the neck-deep paperwork that had accumulated during his absence from Sand, leaving the manor with his team of guards in the early mornings and returning only late in the evenings. Other than for brief exchanges with Sakura before they turned in for the night, both seldom, if ever, had any spare time left to interact with the other. And since Sakura had never once emitted a peep of complaint regarding the responsibilities that the elders were relegating over to her, Gaara had never thought much about it, other than the fact that she always seemed so tired, falling deeply asleep the very moment her head touched the pillow. Even that he had simply attributed her apparent exhaustion to her body's attempt to recover from the stress of relocating to Suna, and he hadn't assumed that it was because she was working herself to death, trying to plan the perfect wedding.

After all, how difficult could it be, to plan a wedding?

That was exactly Gaara's initial thought, until he stepped into this particular drawing room today and saw the mess of papers, fabrics, flowers, even exquisite glassware and miniature statues that had clearly not belonged to this room, together with his almost haggard and very stressed fiancée. His frown deepened, and then he slowly, but surely, started to tug the piece of paper that she had been working so hard over away from her firm grasp, to bring it closer for his own perusal instead. She clearly didn't want to give up the scroll at all, but then his hand came up to hers, long, callused fingers creeping over her smaller, daintier ones, and gently pried her digits off the parchment. She let go at last with great reluctance, but her mild agitation did not last long. They turned quickly to surprise as well as bewilderment when she finally realized that Gaara still had her hand in his, was still calmly holding her hand like it was the most natural thing for him to do, and it didn't look at all like he was about to let go of her anytime soon, either.

Suitably distracted, Sakura could only stare at their linked hands for a long moment, which gave Gaara the chance—and time—to take the paper away from her without suffering anymore of her displeasure. It was the same scroll that had contained that long list of illegible writing that Gaara had trouble deciphering earlier, but a second thorough scan quickly revealed that there were a lot more details to be seen to as well as delicate political maneuvering of visiting ambassadors and dignitaries than he had originally thought.

The powerful redhead directed a long glance at his mate.

"Tell me what you are doing."

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Finally! After such a long hiatus, Shukaku Love is back on the active list again. I'm aware that this chapter seemed rather wordy and with little significant character interaction, but like my beta had perceptively realized, I needed to reestablish Sakura's character as well as her standpoint before this fic could proceed the way I want it to.

Still, no worries; there would be more character interaction next chapter on!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

As of now, the rating for Shukaku Love has been changed from T to M. The reason why would manifest itself in later chapters. My Inner Jiraiya demands it.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Last but not least, I would like to assure my ItaSaku readers that I have not given up on the abovementioned fandom. I just decided to shower some love on my other OTP because I haven't been doing so for the past months, and I have had readers demanding for GaaSaku updates. So I dutifully wrote some on demand, posted them, and the ItaSaku faction came down on me, asking for ItaSaku updates instead.

That's when I wised up and finally understood that this is not going to end well either way, and so I would like to assure everyone that all my muses for various fandoms are very alive and kicking, and that I would update the fics at my own time and discretion.

There, no need to worry!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	10. Chapter 10

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Beta-ed by: **FallenTenshi, MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 4526

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 16/08/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Ten

* * *

His voice was quiet, patient, and seemed hardly demanding, but Sakura knew that he fully expected a reply from her. Still somewhat dazed, Sakura turned her full attention on preparing the explanation that Gaara wanted and less on the way he was subtly squeezing her hand to get her attention. Her bemused gaze focused on him for one brief, searching moment before she finally opened her mouth to explain the things that she had done so far, her progress with the village council, and most importantly, the things that she had yet to complete and desperately needed to finish in order to meet the elders' expectations tomorrow morning.

Almost as if a dam had burst, the words escaped her slowly at first, and then in a rapid rush as she grew more and more agitated, the stress that she had put on herself becoming more and more evident in the way she had actually expected to accomplish so much in the span of a few short days. Gaara listened to her without interrupting, and his calm demeanor rubbed off on her some, because her distressed reactions became markedly less so in his presence. Her furious self-reproach was harsh and entirely unnecessarily, but he allowed her to vent. Only after she had subsided did he choose to flatly remark upon his observations.

"You are being ridiculous."

Before Sakura could even react to her mate's callous statement, flinching away from him and giving him a good glare while she was at it, his hold on her tightened as he quietly compelled her to look at him.

"You are being ridiculous," he stated calmly again, much to her growing irritation. His eyes never left hers.

Sakura was rendered speechless by his seemingly insensitive comment. Then he chose to explain himself. "I doubt that it was the elders' intention to pressure you thusly. It is unrealistic to expect so much from yourself and you know it as well."

Technically, Gaara was right on the dot. But Sakura was not any normal (or relatively sane) person. It wasn't often noticeable, but she was a very obsessive compulsive individual, her quest for perfection so severe that it had even led to the manifestation of an alter ego, everything that Sakura secretly was but dared not reveal to the rest of the world so as to attain that high standard of outer perfection that she had set for herself when only at a very young age. Her subsequent meeting with her best friend Ino had helped change what had been the only defense for a very lonely, badly bullied child, but even though Sakura was now a full grown kunoichi, proud and confident on the outside, there would always be a small part within her who was the insecure little girl who always worried about the size of her forehead and was so painfully eager to please, to give her all, for all the people who had openly accepted her with such kindness.

In a way, Sakura figured that she was becoming exactly like Naruto. As long as she was granted acknowledgement, she would give her all to ensure that those who had chosen to put their trust in her would not be disappointed. A long time ago, she had been contented to remain behind, watching the backs of her teammates as they advanced further and further away from her. But she had grown quickly dissatisfied; why wait for someone to save you when you could do it yourself? Why want to act as the helpless, useless damsel in distress when you could save lives with your own two hands instead? And Sakura was no longer content to remain a deadweight, and now that she had learned to prove her worth, she never wanted to see disappointment and sadness in the gazes of all whom she cared for.

Despite herself, Gaara had somehow become someone whom she was completely unwilling to let down. Granted, Sakura was still not eager to figure out just how that had happened, but it had and she was now trying her best to prove herself capable—and worthy enough to lead his beloved village by his side, as a Kazekage's Lady.

Let it never be said that Sakura was one who did things by half measures. Her latest endeavor in working herself to the ground had just proven the opposite. Her mate was unimpressed, however.

"I shall inform the elders tomorrow to limit and reduce the burden of your responsibilities." Gaara spoke again, his tone decisive and final. Sakura stiffened imperceptibly in reaction. Her eyes flew up to meet his.

"You will not do that!" her demand was unhappy and surprisingly fierce. Her agitation was apparent, but the resolute expression in his hard jade gaze indicated that he wasn't about to relent just because she was unhappy—just looking at her exhausted features infuriated him inwardly; if he had been more attentive towards her this wouldn't have happened. As it was, Gaara clearly saw this entire situation as a result of his lack of oversight and was seeking to rectify his mistake immediately.

It may seem like he was being ridiculously overprotective towards Sakura, but it made perfect sense to him to prevent her from going into any sort of distress—she was first and foremost the mate that Shukaku had chosen, and barring that, was the representative that Konoha had so generously allowed to join Suna through marriage in a powerful show of faith in the alliance that both villages currently shared. Having Sakura fall sick not even a month after her move to Sand was going to reflect badly upon his village as a whole, not to mention that Sakura appeared to be very close to his fellow Jinchuuriki and Naruto was definitely going to be extra annoying than usual when he learned that Gaara hadn't been taking good care of the 'precious sister' whom he had entrusted him with.

Of course, that was not including the fact that the mere notion of Sakura falling ill or being hurt made a part of Gaara feel distinctly unwell as well, and although it clearly irritated him, the redhead indicated no outward reaction of his startling revelation. That demon of his was always complicating his life, and now, with the addition of Sakura, Gaara was willing to bet that Shukaku was having a grand time messing around with his mind using her as a catalyst.

Gaara was most determined to ignore what he quickly perceived as yet another one of Shukaku's irritating antics. The powerful Kazekage looked at his furious fiancée with cool, measuring eyes.

"I will not have you wear yourself out just because you have something to prove." His tone was low, and although his comment seemed hardly like a rebuke, he might as well have slapped her in the face and been done with it. Sakura was immediately stunned, and then hurt crept into her expressive eyes before she could properly hide it. The anger came next, and it seemed at the moment that it was the only emotion strong enough to conceal her apparent exhaustion and growing upset.

Her eyes flared; and then coldness seeped into those normally warm orbs as she seemed to steel herself mentally and gave him a good, frigid glare. Before his very eyes, it was as if the tired, weary female from seconds ago had disappeared completely, to be replaced by a righteously furious and unyielding entity that reminded him very much like himself.

For some reason, the way she was stiffening away from him, as well as the cold, almost callous manner in which that she was regarding him with made him just as displeased as she was, and the fact that just her body language was affecting him so made him even unhappier. Combined with his own dissatisfaction at himself for failing to take care of her like he had promised, as well as the fact that he had just returned from a tiring, stressful day's work from the Kazekage's office, Gaara's own anger showed just as well in his steely jade gaze.

Sakura was hardly intimidated. Her fury roared in her ears and lent her more courage than she knew what to do with, and _how dare that arrogant fiancé of hers behave as if she was some foolish, inexperienced, bimbo of a kunoichi who was only working so hard just for her own satisfaction?_

With a single, insensitive statement, he had just discredited all the hard work that she had poured laboriously into ensuring that everything would go smoothly for the alliance between Sand and Leaf. Was she being selfish, trying to claim all the credit for herself? No!! She was only trying to show Suna's respected elders that she would be more than capable of handling any pressure that they thought to put upon her, so that next time she would be able to help Gaara on her own terms, and with little protests from the aged council members as well as mutual respect, she would hopefully be able to help lessen Gaara's burdens somehow, someway.

But here he was, behaving as if he hardly needed her at all, and maybe it was true; maybe he really had no requirement of her aid whatsoever but it just wasn't Sakura's way to ignore those who were important to her. To do her best, to help those whom she cared about, to try to alleviate their burdens and individual responsibilities had been what she had always done and would always do, and more often than not, her hard work and dedication were appreciated, but even on those rare occasions whereby her loyalty and perseverance were rudely thrown back into her face, Sakura had never quite felt this amount of hurt before, now that Gaara had so easily dismissed her as a flippant and flighty individual.

Was that all he saw whenever he looked at her?

Sakura forcibly swallowed her upset and quickly became defensively angry.

"How dare you?" she whispered heatedly, her eyes aglow with fury. "You have no right to say that to me when you have no idea what I have been doing."

He appeared unfazed by her anger.

"I know that you have been working yourself to the ground." His voice was a calm contrast compared to hers. "This is not why you are here, Sakura."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm here to reinforce the alliance between Sand and Leaf—and that's what I have been doing." Sakura's answer was sharp.

"No." Gaara's reply was immediate. His eyes never left hers. "You are here for me."

His statement was quiet but forceful, and for a brief moment Sakura was taken aback by his matter of fact, possessive statement. Then her anger returned twofold. He was clearly acting as if she belonged to him, as if she was just an object, as if her only value to him was in her physical presence, and that was all. It was all Sakura could do not to lash out at Gaara in reaction, as much as she yearned to. Yelling and screaming and throwing a tantrum may have been extremely satisfying, but they weren't going to help matters at all and might even make it worse if Gaara chose to retaliate as well.

Although Sakura was no longer afraid of her fiancé, she was very well aware of what he was capable of, and although she was confident that he would never hurt her, the mere notion of pitting her currently volatile emotions against his icy temper upset her. She had always been so expressive, whereas he could be very cold and harsh if need be, and there was no doubt just who would emerge the victor if she was to engage him right now.

And so, the kunoichi chose to be smart. She forced herself to unclench her fists, and then forcibly reined in her fierce temper. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. She would not argue with him, tell him how wrong he was to act thusly. Technically, she was all alone in Suna, and if word got out of her quarrel with Gaara, the villagers would realize that there might be something wrong with the alliance. As a kunoichi of Konohagakure, it would be her duty to ensure that peace would ensue between the two countries. Everything else, even her personal hurt and feelings, would have to be shoved aside.

They were not important—after all, wasn't this a mission that she had vowed to accomplish no matter the consequence? She had promised herself determinedly not to disappoint and worry her precious people anymore, and come hell or high water, she would keep her promise.

There was only one thing left to do.

Gaara noticed the moment she started to withdraw within herself. Her passionate, vibrant personality was immediately shielded over by cool professionalism that nearly matched his own expressionless jade gaze. Before the powerful redhead could react, Sakura stood up and silently started to gather a select pile of documents from the coffee table, completely ignoring him until she turned to him at last to retrieve the list that he had taken from her earlier.

"Please return the list."

Gaara did no such thing. Instead, he frowned imperceptibly as he watched the neutral expression on Sakura's face, lips thinning with growing displeasure as he realized quickly what she was up to.

"Sakura." His tone was considerably sharper this time around, almost dangerous. "Do not play games with me."

The pink-haired female gave no verbal response, but the way she jutted out her chin slightly with rebellious aggression made even Shukaku within him stir with growing discontent. But Sakura remained calm.

"Even if you do not approve, _Kazekage-sama_," her purposefully respectful, official address of his title made Gaara's eyes narrow with abject irritation, "As a kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato, I am obligated to do my utmost to ensure a healthy continuance of the treaty between Sand and Leaf. This includes publicizing to the world the great faith and importance that both of our villages hold in each other, with or without your consent or support."

In other words, she was making it perfectly clear to him that, while she was in Sand territory, she still did not have to answer completely to him. Gaara's lips flattened into a thin line.

"You are my mate, and my fiancée." His tone was hard, the only sign of his growing agitation.

Sakura deftly extracted the note from him, and then added the painstakingly created piece of paper onto the stack of documents that she had gathered. She looked at the irritated redhead.

"I do not belong to Suna, or even you," she noted quietly with perceptive cunning, "until our marriage is officially registered, and the Godaime Hokage-sama formally releases me from my duties to Leaf."

Then, as if to signal that she was done having this conversation, Sakura hefted the paperwork into her arms and prepared to turn away. However, before she could even move a step, he too, had stood up from the couch and was glowering in a rather intimidating fashion at her. Somehow, she wasn't at all surprised.

By now, Sakura barely had the energy to remain furious with her arrogant fiancé. She still had some ways to go before she could complete all that she had set out to do today, and staying mad at Gaara was completely unproductive—and Sakura was so very tired. She really should put some distance between herself and her redheaded husband-to-be before anyone of them said or did anything more that they didn't mean to, and she started to sidestep him.

He didn't let her pass.

"Where are you going?" he asked abruptly, clearly ignoring her earlier statement of how she was not under his thumb and did not have to do exactly as he dictated, as true as the matter was.

Sakura sighed. At least the coldness in his tone was no longer present, and he sounded genuinely curious as to what she was planning to do now. If he was being cordial again, Sakura was definitely willing enough to return the favor.

"I need to finish this proposal, as well as go over my checklist one last time before I'm done for today, so I'm going somewhere I can hopefully work in peace," she commented, pointedly towards the end, but generally she explained herself patiently, albeit in a somewhat worn out manner.

"Stay here."

Before she could think to protest, he had somehow relieved her of her paperwork, and had set the small stack back upon the coffee table. Then, he sat back down upon the expensive settee and looked at her calmly, clearly waiting for her to join him. Sakura started to frown at what he was attempting to do, but at last, she decided to throw caution to the wind and sank back down onto the sofa weakly.

Just this one time, she would give him the benefit of doubt.

As for Gaara, the choice was really simple for him to make. She was proving to be immovable and obstinate when it came to the subject of her work, and he had been right; she took fierce pride in her duties and clearly did not care at all to be interrupted or forcibly removed from her responsibilities, as evidenced by how she was even willing to pull rank with him and remove herself physically from him all for the sake of completing her tasks. In a way, her dedication had just proven to him that Shukaku had chosen well; she would make a great co-regent. On the other hand, the fact that she had so very easily relegated their mating bond to the obligations of a mere mission displeased him, even as a part of him silently applauded her for doing something not many had successfully accomplished before—jerk his chain and aggravate him into seeing things her way, and then force him to make the choice of either helping her or leaving her alone to handle the stress of her overwhelming responsibilities.

Logically, he shouldn't let her have her way. To do so would give her the impression that he was weak and therefore could be easily manipulated in the future whenever she wanted him to do something. He ought to be firm with his errant mate, but it was impossible to do so when she was being so determined and working hard for the sake of both their villages. In this case, it would be wrong of him to not help her when clearly she could use a helping hand, even though she was too proud to ask it of him. Everything else he had tried to force her away from her duties had failed, and since she would not budge until she had fulfilled the impossibly high standards that she had put up for herself to accomplish, the only way left was to help her out by lessening her burden.

Sakura watched with more than a little bit of bewilderment as the powerful redhead reached out, took a small sheaf of papers from the larger stack that she had gathered together earlier, and began to read through them. She tensed slightly when she realized his intention, and then opened her mouth to ask exactly what he was trying to do.

That jade gaze of his was no longer imperious, cold. He had reverted back to his normal, impassive self, and as he glanced at her confused countenance, he could not help but sigh inwardly. Of all the females that his bijuu could choose, it would have to be this particularly strong-headed, obstinate kunoichi.

A part of him quietly questioned if he would have accepted any other woman as easily as he had Sakura if they weren't anything like her, and as much as he did not like to admit it, Gaara doubted that would be the case. She was probably one of the few who would dare to stand toe to toe with him, and had done so even when they were but Genin; he a murderous rampaging demon bent on destroying her teammates and she only a weak and powerless young girl, barely even a teenager, intent on protecting those precious to her even if she had to stand up against one as fearsome and as deadly as he in order to do so.

And now that same fiery female, brave to the point of absolute foolishness, was his mate. Admittedly, Shukaku could have chosen far less worthy candidates to be his consort, but this beautiful pink-haired kunoichi was now bound to him and he was responsible for her wellbeing whether she liked it or not, and that meant he would have to ensure that she would not stress and overstrain herself.

"I believe that I have mentioned this repeatedly before, Sakura; you are my mate, and therefore you are most important to me." He spoke calmly, almost as if he wasn't revealing his weakness to her. "I will aid and protect you in any way I can, although I would appreciate it if you could meet me halfway in that particular endeavor."

Sakura could only stare at him. For all his polite and formal speech, he had just made an astoundingly similar promise to her that Naruto once had a long time ago.

"_I will always protect you, Sakura-chan! You are one of my most precious people, and I will always protect you! That is the promise of a lifetime!" _

Granted, her husband-to-be didn't sound entirely enthusiastic about it, compared to her heart brother's cocksure grin and happy squint, but for some reason or another, his firm, quiet claim warmed her heart.

It really was getting harder and harder to remain angry at Gaara for long periods of time the more she got to know what he was really like. Underneath that cold, seemingly emotionless visage was a man who worked so hard to prove to everyone that he was not the bloodthirsty demon that he housed, that despite being a Jinchuuriki, he was still human and he would protect everyone who was important to him. No man was an island, and it had been a lesson that Naruto had taught to him well. The will to defend and nurture would always be a Kage's prerogative, definitely a prerequisite, if you may, to holding the title of the village's most powerful guardian, and Gaara had certainly proven his ability in spades, when he had fended off the Akatsuki intent on taking his bijuu, his birthright, albeit an entirely unwanted one, as well as destroying his village while they were at it. Not to mention how he had singlehandedly saved Suna from economic and financial ruin, and had also destroyed Sand's helpless dependence on a flighty and fickle Daimyo.

In a twisted manner, Gaara was Naruto's mirror in every way. The darker, quieter, not-so-shameless version, anyway.

If said blonde was here, he would have kicked up a ruckus over his Sakura-chan's so called 'favoritism' and then proceed to pout like an overgrown baby.

Sakura's spirits rose somewhat at the thought of her sworn sibling, and then she focused back upon her fiancé again. Both of them really were similar, and yet so very different at the same time. Furthermore, Sakura was reminded of her own silent promise to herself, to always watch over Naruto's back now that she was able, and after hearing Gaara's calm reiteration of how he would watch over her as well, Sakura could no longer deny the revelation that she had just very recently realized.

Her redheaded mate was very important to her as well, and like Naruto, she would protect him to the best of her abilities, come hell or high water.

The sure, emphatic notion that he had ascended the ranks to become one of her precious people did not alarm her like she had thought it would. There was only a quiet acceptance, a small ripple of growing awareness towards the man who was her mate, as well as this sense of natural rightness, that she was doing the correct thing, and that made her even more confident of this decision that had just occurred within her.

And that was it.

Gaara's fate was sealed from henceforth, even though he still had no idea whatsoever.

The Godaime Kazekage could only look at his mate with something akin to wary skepticism as a small, entirely self-satisfied smile bloomed slowly on the face of his previously upset fiancée. Suddenly, it was as if her exhaustion had been temporarily banished, and she looked so very pleased with herself that he wasn't even going to bother wondering what was flitting about in that head of hers right now.

"And I have told you before as well, Gaara; I too, will protect you with my life, so I believe that we are about even."

That said, Sakura reached out and took the remaining stack of papers, put them on her lap, and started to leaf through them distractedly. At the same time, she leaned back fully on the couch, heaved a deep sign and relaxed completely despite the fact that she was sitting so near to Gaara that they were almost touching. All of a sudden, she was at ease with him again, and her action confused him briefly. Wasn't she supposedly furious with him but moments ago?

She sure wasn't acting that way now, judging by the way she seemed content to remain by his side, her legs pulled up and curled under her as she continued to look at the sheaf of papers on hand, the very picture of informality. Not to mention her completely absurd statement…didn't she know that he was the one who had to look after her, and not vice versa? The notion that she actually wanted to protect one such as him was a rather novel concept to Gaara; she had mentioned something to that effect in passing before but he had not taken her seriously then. And now she had as much as declared it again, and he was privately surprised by the conviction behind her tone.

…truly, she possessed such an appalling ability to distract him without even knowing it, and when he realized that he had been staring at her for at least an entire minute, he started to scowl with irritation.

"You know that was not what I meant." The redhead spoke eventually, though the hint of exasperation in his low tenor was rather obvious to her.

The small, pleased smile on her face widened slightly to form a tiny smirk as she turned her head to regard her somewhat irritable mate.

"That's just too bad for you, Gaara," she retorted back in an annoyingly serene manner, so much so that one would hardly believe that she had been close to losing her temper just minutes ago. "I will protect you even if you don't like it, because you are one of my precious people now."

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Yes, Gaara is precious to Sakura, and she finally admits it! I hope you guys _drown_ in the fluff, ohohoho!

_P.S.: So sorry, if this authoress is being a little out of character and undignified; that's simply because she has just bought over fifty volumes of manga from the comic shop earlier today. She is currently very giddy and not thinking straight, and would be back to normal by the next update. Hopefully. _

**xXxXxXxXxX**

I know that some of you have mentioned that Gaara may be OOC. I cannot really justify my reasons for making him this way, safe for the fact that this is how I perceive his character; overprotective but impatient, he is still icy and emotionless most of the time, but only those closest to him would get to see that detached composure of his slip—occasionally that is.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Last but not least, a very warm 'thank you' to all the kind readers for the very warm reception upon my reentry into the GaaSaku fandom. I know that I don't mention this enough, but I really do appreciate all of your support and wonderful reviews. Thank you all, once again!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	11. Chapter 11

**Title: **Shukaku Love

**Author: **pawsbells

**Beta-ed by: **FallenTenshi, MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5920

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 29/08/08

**

* * *

**

Chapter Eleven

* * *

She said the words so very casually, but his reaction to her firm declaration was anything but. The normally impassive, implacable Kazekage jerked slightly in surprise, even as jade eyes widened imperceptibly at the pink-haired kunoichi's blatant proclamation. Sakura glanced up at the somewhat astonished male and arched an eyebrow.

"What is it now?"

He recovered quickly and regained his cool composure. Gaara had not expected for Sakura to be so open and direct with her feelings, especially not towards him. He looked at her closely, almost as if suspiciously searching for any hints of inconsistency or oddity that might prove her intentions false.

"…precious people?" he echoed somewhat dubiously, that jade gaze of his meeting her own emerald orbs straight on.

Sakura could not help her own reaction. She blushed. Horribly. She hadn't expected to blurt out the choice that she had just made, but it had seemed like a good idea at the time to inform Gaara just where they stood with each other. Wasn't that what most successful couples did? Share their feelings with their other half and try not to hide any secrets from their spouse? Sakura wasn't really sure; she had never been married before, though it did make a lot of sense to her that she should develop trust with Gaara, and it would definitely make living together easier for the both of them in the future.

Therefore, she tried to push aside her embarrassment at her daring declaration, giving him a quick nod instead, the chagrin in her eyes fading away to be replaced by seriousness as she 

continued to look at him. "We are going to be married soon; you are going to be my husband, and I will not be just a vapid, mindless trophy wife!" she declared with such fervor that he actually stared at her somewhat oddly. It was apparent that she had given their current situation quite some thought. "I demand at least mutual respect in our marriage, and as my future lord and husband, I will always watch over your back, try to keep you out of harm's way, swear to help you in any way that I can, and, oh, try to obey you as often as I can, within reason, of course," she added hastily even as he fought not to look at her too incredulously.

She did not notice his most unflattering, disbelieving stare, and nodded firmly to herself once more before paying attention to him again.

"I will try to be a good wife and mate to you, Gaara," she promised fervently.

He didn't look like he believed her, but grunted in agreement all the same when she seemed to be expecting some sort of response from him. Satisfied with his ready answer, she gave her somewhat dazed fiancé a small smile before returning to her duties at hand with a rather visible grimace on her face. How she couldn't wait for this goddamned wedding to be over! Why couldn't they just elope instead?

Gaara observed her antics discreetly. She was such a troublesome obligation that he felt he hadn't needed at first, she was so very…spontaneous, she needed, no, demanded to be handled sensitively, she was too self-sacrificing for her own good, she always had the oddest notions in her head, she was appallingly unrestrained with her temper and emotions…he could go on and on. But she was being so damned earnest, and despite himself, the redhead could not help but experience a rare sense of affection for this pink-haired female currently sitting next to him, pouring over her share of the paperwork and meticulously making sure that everything was perfect.

But yet, as he watched her impatiently pull off her hair tie to rearrange her mussed hair so that it would not irritate her any longer, Gaara reluctantly came to the grudging conclusion that she was probably the only woman he would accept as mate. Surprisingly, the conclusion wasn't as difficult to accept as he had originally thought. After all, Sakura was strong, in all the ways that counted, in all the manners that mattered. In typical Gaara-esque optimism, the Wind Shadow decided that things could have been a lot worse.

…He could have been stuck with a demanding, shrilling banshee for a wife, who cared about nothing more than herself, who gave him nothing but headaches and more problems than he knew how to deal with…

In that manner of thought, Gaara was quick to decide that he was rather blessed in his choice of mate.

It was at that moment that Sakura raised her head from her work to see her fiancé staring at her with an odd light in his eyes, and it appeared suspiciously like the almighty, powerful, ass kicking Godaime Kazekage was spacing out on her, much to her inner amusement.

"Gaara, what on earth are you thinking so hard for?"

Almost immediately, those distracted jade eyes cleared and became annoyingly bland once more as he looked at her. Though this time, Sakura thought that she saw a small hint of something that vaguely resembled acknowledgement in those impassive depths. It was gone before she could ascertain, however, and then Gaara chose to distract her. He reached over to her, and then, calm as you please, pointed at a particular paragraph on the piece of paper on her lap, and shook his head once.

"There is a mistake here. Placing the local Daimyo of River village next to the Lord of Ta no Kuni would be seen as the worst case of insult. They are currently involved in a petty land dispute and tend to become rather unpleasant when placed in the vicinity of one another." He explained the needed change even as his eyes continued scanning down the rather intimidating length that was the guest list, and Sakura frowned, quickly made the necessary changes.

"Here as well," he tapped lightly on a spot on the scroll. "Suna may not depend entirely on the charities of our warlord any longer, but we will not slight the Wind Daimyo. Give him a better placement, preferably within the VIP area, where he can be properly guarded by our forces. It will not look good if he suffered from an assassination whilst staying within our village." Sakura masked a tired yawn, before nodding in agreement and swiftly rectifying the error.

"I suppose that we could put him next to the Fire Daimyo, then," Sakura mused, mostly to herself. "After all, the both of them seemed to share a perverse pleasure in out-bragging the other."

Gaara's brow furrowed slightly at that playful jab. It was apparent that Sakura was rather aware of the many little idiosyncrasies of certain high-profile political figures, thanks to her intimate connection as her Hokage's prized student.

Thankfully enough, Sakura noticed the expression on his face that quickly implied to her that he was somewhat displeased about something. Again. It would be hard not to, actually; they were sitting rather close to each other, so much so that their faces were only inches apart during their discussion. It also didn't take Sakura long to deduce the reason behind Gaara's newest case of upset. The kunoichi was beginning to come to the conclusion that her dear husband-to-be was secretly a stick-in-the-mud traditionalist, who, despite himself having once been an arrogant Genin from hell (literally) in the past (and had merely the presence to become an arrogant Kazekage, _from hell_), happened to appreciate order and respect a lot more than she had originally thought. It was certainly mystifying to her how he had remained friends with loud, boisterous Naruto, and even Lee, and if he thought that he was going to shape her into a completely boring, rule-abiding, meek wife, boy was he going to be in for a big surprise.

"Relax a little, will you? I have considerable respect for both our warlords; it's just a rather well known fact that they like to boast whenever they happened to be in the other's presence, and it's always such an amusing event to observe," she muttered to the mildly affronted male, somewhat put out over the fact that Gaara was a very serious individual. She really should have known.

At that thought, Sakura quickly shook her head mentally. What the hell was she thinking, contemplating such nonsense? The lack of sleep was certainly doing a number on her, judging by the way her mind kept wandering off tangent to the most inane and unexpected matters.

She pinched the bridge of her nose hard and sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry if I offended your delicate sensibilities, alright?" the narrow-eyed look on the redhead's face quickly indicated that he was not amused. "I know the protocols, I know my limits, I never overstep them."

To that he finally replied.

"That was then. This is now. Things are no longer the same; you will become my Lady, the eyes of the world would be on you constantly," he lectured disapprovingly. "You must always be above reproach, a paragon of virtue; you cannot afford to slip up."

By the time Gaara was through explaining the obligations that she was expected to undertake on behalf of the village, Sakura's lightening spirits were beginning to take a serious nosedive again. It was a solid reminder that the mantle of leadership that she was supposed to help Gaara with was heavy and filled with numerous overwhelming responsibilities. As much as she detested the truth, there was really no way to go about it.

When she made her promise to help Gaara to the best of her abilities, taking on the constant pressure of public scrutiny was but one of the many sacrifices that she had to make. Sakura was not about to callously break her own promise when she wasn't even married to her Shukaku-hosting mate yet. To tell the truth, Sakura had no intention whatsoever of breaking her promise at all.

Gaara wasn't exactly surprised when his loving fiancée gave him a sour look. "Thank you for that awe inspiring speech," she grumbled under her breath, "I was so moved that I couldn't find a thing to say." She promptly went back to making changes on her paper, and then she allowed him to look and scan for mistakes.

There seemed to be none anymore; either that or Gaara was wisely keeping silent to keep from further aggravating an already dangerously aggravated mate. He merely returned to his own stack of scrolls, content to go through them and point out any more mistakes and suggest improvements to Sakura. Surprisingly enough, the she listened to what he had to say without sulking and was objective enough to keep her annoyance with Gaara out of the way in the interests of completing what she had set out to accomplish for the day. She was a highly intelligent individual; therefore, he was aware that she had probably heeded his words, though she certainly wasn't very happy to hear about it from him at the moment.

He would be right.

Being reprimanded by Gaara wasn't exactly high on Sakura's to-do list, but she was grudgingly aware of what he was trying to tell her. She was no longer only a Hokage's disciple. She would be the Kazekage's bride, and as fairy tale-like as her situation appeared to be, Sakura was learning first hand that there was nothing further than the truth. Still, that didn't mean that she was going to allow her own personality to be leeched away from her in the name of duty. Sakura had done that years ago—attempt to hide her true self—and it had gotten her nowhere. She would not do the same now; it would never work and she would have become miserable in the end.

After a few moments of silence, Sakura spoke, her tone soft.

"I will try my best, but I'm only human, and I refuse to change that."

His reply was simple, even as he raised his head slightly to look at her.

"I don't expect you to."

At that, it was as if an unnoticed burden had just been lifted off her shoulders. Her slightly tensed form relaxed, and a small, wry smile graced her face.

"In that case, we will have no problems with each other."

To that, Gaara wisely refrained from commenting. He was learning quickly that his mate could be rather temperamental sometimes, and most of the time it usually had to happen in his presence. He really didn't think that they would have 'no problems with each other' as long as that was the case. So far, she had already managed to turn his peaceful existence upside down and was now working diligently to make him as daft as she was. Gaara wasn't about to give in gracefully, though. He rather prized his hard-earned sanity and monotonous, mostly dull, paperwork-filled life, thank you very much.

…still, Gaara reminded himself, once again, that it could have been worse. He could have had worse, and although Sakura would definitely have taken offence over at the redhead's pessimistic opinion, Gaara wasn't exactly being negative. Not really. Her happy, vibrant personality was so different from his that he was still slowly adapting to living with one such as her. It wasn't easy for a person like him, but if he had to be honest to himself, his life was certainly a little more interesting with her around.

Gaara still didn't know if he enjoyed these changes in his life, and he never thought too much about them either.

"Gaara." Sakura's quiet voice distracted him from his thoughts. He turned his attention from the papers to look at her. There was a look of genuine gratitude on her face. Gratitude for understanding her more than he knew, gratitude for choosing to help her when he could have easily used force and rank to order her into submission, gratitude for staying here with her at two o'clock in the morning, when he could have retired already to prepare for yet another tiring day at the office.

"Thank you."

Her whisper was decidedly shy, completely at odds with her normal bold temperament, and he was hard pressed not to arch a non-existent brow in reaction. She was rather endearing, like this.

Not that he would have admitted it aloud, not even under the threat of death.

"You are welcome, Sakura," he replied calmly, in the usual deadpan manner that he was rather infamous for. Really, Sakura would have thought that he was mocking her if not for the very simple fact that he was Gaara.

She sighed.

"We really need to work on your people skills," the kunoichi commented idly, but there wasn't a hint of annoyance in her tone, just good-natured exasperation.

"We really need to complete this," he retorted pointedly.

Sakura could not help herself; she smiled despite her growing exhaustion.

"Yes, the Kazekage-sama needs his beauty sleep, after all." Since he did not approve of her making fun of the various dignitaries, she had decided to reserve her teasing for him.

He didn't look amused. As usual. Sakura didn't let that (dirty) look of his put her down. She burst into soft laughter, the light and carefree sound effectively chasing away her stress and exhaustion. He ignored her to return to the lengthy guest list that she had painstakingly created earlier, but her giggles did not stop, much to his silent aggravation.

It didn't take long for Sakura to decide that it wasn't that bad after all, to have her mate with her like this.

Maybe they should spend more time together.

* * *

Morning came and the living room was even messier than it was the night before, and right smack in the middle of this paper battleground was the Godaime Kazekage and his pink-haired fiancée.

"Aw…" Temari cooed softly as she stood by the doorway of the room, a smirking Kankurou as well as two of Gaara's elite guards standing beside her. "Look at the pair of lovebirds snuggling together."

It really was a good thing that said 'pair of lovebirds' happened to be too exhausted to notice that they were no longer alone in the room, having just fallen asleep less than an hour ago, when dawn had just approached and everything Sakura was supposed to do had been finally completed to perfection. As it was, the petite female was curled up securely by her mate's side on the couch, apparently in a deep, exhaustive sleep, whereas her powerful fiancé had been somewhat guarded and napping lightly, but upon sensing the extra, albeit familiar presences within the vicinity, had quickly shown signs of waking up.

Within less than ten seconds, the Godaime Kazekage was fully awake and functional, and judging by the way he was frowning subtly at his amused siblings and the captains to his personal guards, he wasn't exactly happy about the way they were eyeballing him and his mate.

Temari thought that it was absolutely adorable, that her secretly kawaii little brother appeared to be stuck in his position by Sakura's side, seeing that the pink-haired female seemed to stir unhappily every time he tried to move. Kankurou just thought it plain hilarious, even as the small group wandered deeper into the room.

The captains greeted their Kazekage quietly in consideration for their dozing mistress, and then Asuka offered to carry Sakura-sama to the bedroom so that she could rest properly. Gaara denied the request with a shake of his head; he was gradually getting used to Sakura's affectionate tendency to snuggle and burrow towards the nearest source of warmth when asleep, and loyal guard or no, the redhead Kazekage was simply not willing to share his kunoichi's display of trust with anyone else. Especially when she was unconscious and unguarded, vulnerable from possible attacks.

That left Gaara with a dilemma. It was still early morning, but already he was due to leave for the Kage offices to oversee duties for the day, despite his own lack of rest. That didn't really mean much to him, though, since he had been conditioned for long periods without the need for sleep, it wouldn't be a problem for him to survive today with no rest whatsoever. The real problem was resting against him, curled up tightly in order to ward against the bitter chill of Suna's harsh early morning climate, currently out cold and tuckered out from having to fulfill the responsibilities that the elders had given her.

At that mental reminder, Gaara lifted his head and regarded one of his loyal captains.

"Shun," he spoke softly, authoritatively, as he gestured to the neat stack of scrolls and papers on the coffee table. It was of a rather intimidating size, and it was apparent to all just what Sakura-sama had been up against last night. "Take these to the elders, and have them look through it. Inform them that they are to execute the instructions within as they see fit. Let them know as well that in no certain terms are they allowed to disturb Sakura for the whole of today."

Shun nodded in understanding and gathered up the large stack of documents effortlessly. But Gaara was not done yet. "Asuka, you may reinforce my order by prohibiting the lot of them from entering this property if necessary." Asuka nodded once. "Shun, I also require a meeting with them at the earliest time possible, and that I fully expect a reasonable explanation as to why they are working the Hokage's prized disciple to the ground. My mate is obviously over pressured, overworked and unaware of where her limits lie, yet they have been doing nothing but encouraging her to go further down that detrimental road and I would like to know why."

It was apparent that their Kazekage wasn't very happy with the decision of the council, judging by the way his voice was becoming softer and colder as he relayed more instructions to his guards. That, and the fact that, despite the utter calmness and stillness in his form so as not to disturb a certain pink-haired mate, the sand gourd of his that was currently leaning against a nearby wall was stirring dangerously in reaction to its owner's agitation.

Temari and Kankurou exchanged a swift glance. Today was not going to be a good day for anyone who was unfortunate enough to be in contact with the Godaime Kazekage, no matter how brief the association would be. Their younger brother's tolerance limit was dangerously short as it was; the two older Sand Siblings never did understand the village elders' strange compulsion to constantly play Russian roulette with it, literally 'poking a stick at the angry demon.' There would always be innocent casualties sucked helplessly into the fray whenever Gaara got into a bad temper, and just by gauging the annoyed expression on the redhead's face, things were definitely going to get ugly as the day progressed.

And no matter how Gaara liked to believe that he didn't need as much sleep as the next normal _and_ sane person; both siblings knew that he was usually a lot grumpier when he went without compared to when he actually had a good night's rest. So yes, today was definitely going to be hell on wheels for all the shinobi of Sunagakure, unless something was done.

"Actually, Gaara." Kankurou interrupted when the younger Sabaku started to make plans to move his sleeping fiancée to their bedroom. "Maybe you should rest up today as well."

Temari agreed, adding in her two cents while she was at it.

"You and Sakura have not slept the entire night. Take the day off—Kankurou and I can take care of the paperwork; it's not like we never do it when you are out of the village."

Gaara merely looked at his siblings. By now, Shun had left to fulfill his biddings and only Asuka remained to guard the couple.

"I'm not out of the village," he answered calmly.

Kankurou fought the urge to groan. His younger brother was such a workaholic! Here were his loving siblings who volunteered to slog through all the boring paperwork for him, but it was as if he could not wait to return to the office and work his ass off for the village. Gaara was patriotic, no one could deny that, but this was becoming absurd!

"Just take the damn day off, you little pain in the ass," Kankurou grumbled, and the fact that the actually 'not-so-little' Gaara had let the 'endearing' insult slip by him was simply astounding to those who had known him during his Genin years. It was hard to reconcile the past bloodthirsty pre-teen with this seemingly unemotional, extremely powerful man who didn't seem to mind his siblings good natured badmouthing. The Gaara of the past would have committed fratricide without a blink. The Gaara of the present merely sighed inwardly and tolerated his brother's absurdly inappropriate language.

"Seriously, I don't know what you are thinking; you have such a beautiful fiancée here and you want to neglect her and leave her all alone just so that you can sit in the Kage tower and look at the sour, wrinkled faces of the village councilmen for the whole day. I wonder about your sanity, little brother."

"I'm obligated to do my job," Gaara commented dryly, in his usual impassive tone. At the same time, he glanced down at his slumbering mate, who appeared for all intents and purposes, to have slept through the entire conversation. But she was beginning to stir. Her long, dense eyelashes, a shade darker than her hair color, fanned her delicate cheekbones slightly as she grimaced unconsciously, twisting her face into his own sleep-rumpled Kage robes as she tried to clutch onto the last vestiges of sleep. It was to no avail.

Sakura let out a small, dissatisfied groan, and the three Sand Siblings watched as she woke up eventually, still exhausted and somewhat worn out. It took awhile for her to notice the smirks on Temari and Kankurou's faces, as well as her intimate position against Gaara. With a surprised gasp, she woke up completely, in a great hurry even, as she tried to put some respectable distance between herself and her mate. It was too bad that Gaara did not let up his ironclad hold around her waist, keeping her firmly in place beside him.

"Aw! The two of you are just so kawaii!" Temari teased in a playful drawl. Sakura turned bright red, and then she shook her head and sighed.

"Morning, Temari, Kankurou." She greeted her friends and future in-laws, voice still husky from sleep. Looking around dazedly, she heaved yet another sigh before giving a minute stretch. "I suppose I should get myself ready for the meeting with the elders later on-"

"Oh no, not today you don't," her blonde friend interrupted her with a small smile. Sakura was so hardworking and determined; she was really like Gaara. "You worked absurdly hard last night; you deserve a day off! The elders will handle everything today, so you can relax."

Sakura appeared surprised—and even momentarily pleased by the news. Then she frowned slightly. "Are you sure?" she questioned hesitantly. "The elders probably want me to oversee the planning. I should be able to-"

"You will rest today." There was simply no mistaking just who had issued that particularly arrogant edict; she could feel his words rumbling from his chest. Sakura was hard pressed not to roll her eyes at him.

"Is that so?" she asked sweetly. The hour or so nap didn't seem quite enough to replenish her energy, but it was enough to refresh her, if only for a little while. She was definitely being sassy again and he stared coolly at her, before giving a calm nod. "And what about you, Kazekage-sama?"

Before Gaara could speak, Kankurou cut in cheerfully. "Oh, don't worry. He will be taking the day off as well."

It was apparent by the unhappy look on her mate's face that he must have been browbeaten into it, but yet, he did not deny Kankurou's statement. Sakura arched an eyebrow, but Gaara was no longer paying attention to her.

"I still want the meeting with the elders as soon as possible," he informed Temari without preamble, "preferably first thing tomorrow morning."

Kankurou merely waved his hand lazily. "Yare, yare. I'm sure that you would put the fear of god, or Gaara, into them. We will arrange it, so don't worry. Suna is not going to burn to the ground just because you took a day off to accompany your pretty bride, my brother the no lifer."

Sakura blushed despite herself, and Temari's smirk widened.

"Alright, you two lovebirds, we are leaving now," The blonde wind mistress drawled as they began to pile out of the room. "Don't do anything I wouldn't, eh?"

Gaara's expression of increasing vexation was rather apparent, and so was Sakura's red hot face. Heh, her little brother and his little mate were so fun to tease!

They watched the duo leave the room, and then Asuka, the forgotten guard captain, shrugged inwardly and looked to his lord for instruction. "Gaara-sama, should I have the servants prepare breakfast?"

The redhead shook his head and stood up. Sakura followed his lead easily, well aware of his plans, plans that she fully agreed with at the moment. Oh, she can't wait to fall asleep again, this time on a proper bed!

"We will retire to rest. You are dismissed, Asuka."

The blue-haired Jounin nodded, bowed respectfully, and vacated the room swiftly and silently, leaving the Kazekage and his fiancée alone. Sakura didn't waste time on any more conversation with Gaara. Her bed was singing its siren song to her and all she wanted was to go to it, right now! All her other responsibilities and subsequent meetings with the elders would have to wait until she had a proper rest, and without further ado, Sakura vacated the living room as well and started for the grand staircase of the ridiculously huge manor. Gaara followed her, unsurprisingly, but the trip to the room was made in silence. Not awkward, mind you, but a rather comfortable, easy companionship.

After all, there was nothing to feel awkward about anymore. They had been sharing the same bedroom ever since she arrived in Suna, and already Sakura had gotten used to the presence of her mate. Gaara was a living radiator, literally. He exuded such an overabundance of warmth that Sakura really didn't need any blankets to protect her from the frigid nights of Suna, and she was rather grateful for it, even. Her fiancé was not trying to take advantage of her, as he usually kept his hands on the neutral areas of her body, and she was now entirely comfortable with sleeping with him, curled up trustingly against his side as she slumbered contentedly in the firm, unwavering protection of his arms. Of course, she still had the tendency to blush to herself when she had express thoughts regarding her situation with Gaara, but even those were beginning to not faze her any longer. Despite his many faults (arrogant, overprotective, impatient, short-tempered, etc) he really was a good man, and for that alone Sakura knew that she was lucky to be wedded to him.

For now, that was enough. The rest would come later.

* * *

Sakura was so exhausted that she really didn't think about much the moment they entered the room. Her body moving on autopilot, the kunoichi wandered straight into the bathroom to wash up and brush her teeth. She half stumbled out quickly enough, passing by Gaara as he entered the bathroom to fulfill his own hygiene needs. It had taken a little while for them to get used to sharing their personal space, not to mention figuring out whose items belonged where, dividing cupboard space, vanity space, who slept on which side of the bed, etc. But eventually routine took over and it was only a matter of days before the both of them started to settle into their new roles. It certainly hadn't been easy at first, but they managed, and now, here they were.

A couple, but not really.

Not _yet_.

Meanwhile, Sakura started to undress herself whilst fighting back a jaw breaking yawn. Absently tossing her clothing on the back of an armchair, she padded back towards the bed clad in only her underwear. Normally, the kunoichi would have been scrambling for her pajamas, but she was too lazy to root around the closet for her set of nightclothes. Besides, it was no longer night time, and the temperature was going to soar as soon as the sun rose over the desert landscape that was Suna. Therefore, it had felt like a good idea (at that time) to just clamber into bed, spend some precious time fluffing her pillows, and then drop off straight to sleep.

Instant lights out.

When Gaara exited the bathroom a few minutes later, that was exactly the sight that he was treated to.

That didn't mean that he was prepared for it, though.

Impassive jade eyes widened imperceptibly at the vision of a seemingly endless expanse of milky, smooth skin, covered only by dainty scraps of feminine peach lace and matched by lustrous, exotic pink hair that spilled softly onto the silk covers of his bed. She was lying on her side, half curled and facing away from him and he could clearly see the graceful line of her pale back all the way down to the twin dimples that flanked her tailbone.

The shape of her body was svelte but curvy, and although Gaara had known all these just by holding her in the past, this was the first time he had seen his mate so…undressed.

The Godaime Kazekage was _not_ expecting this.

Soundlessly, he began to move towards the bed, his eyes never leaving her slumbering form, inwardly marveling; he couldn't believe just how deceptively fragile she appeared to be. He crept into bed easily, having already changed out of his Kage robes and into his usual loose, sleeping pants. Then, he observed her in the brightening light as the sun began its lazy ascent into the skies. The soft, gentle purrs of her breathing were familiar to him by now, and she was snuggled into her pillow, utterly content, pink lips slightly parted, her slender ribcage rising and falling in slow rhythm.

Peaceful.

He lifted his hand, stretched out his fingers, and slowly ran the callused tips down the silky curve of her back. The trail of tiny goose bumps that materialized on her skin fascinated him, and then she stirred slightly in reaction. He took his hand off her, just in time as she half-turned, changed position, and then settled on her back in an exposed sprawl. It was as if she hardly cared about the powerful redhead, her mate, currently hovering over her semi-nude form with blatant masculine curiosity.

He continued to look at her, completely unabashed. What was there to be ashamed of, after all? She was his mate, and acts of shared intimacy with her would occur often once they got married. She truly was a beautiful woman, fiery and spirited and fiercely protective. She would be forever his and he would be true to her for the rest of his life. In that manner of thought, there really wasn't anything to be shy about. Her body was his to enjoy, and vice versa. He had known that she hadn't been ready to mate him yet, and he hadn't pushed her for it either. There would be time for that later, and besides, tradition mandated that he not attempt to impregnate her until after they were married. It was a small matter; he could wait.

But she was only dressed in her undergarments right now. Was she trying to give him a hint? She had always put on her sleepwear before they retired to bed, and now…

Gaara frowned slightly. The woman was clearly out cold at the moment and yet she was still giving him so much to think about. The redhead decided to put the matter aside—for the moment. Her reaction when she woke later would tell him what he needed to know—as well as guide him to the appropriate responses that she may be expecting. It wasn't that important now.

Decision made, the Kazekage swiftly settled himself beside his fiancée. It truly was as if she had a heat detector built into her senses; his mate blindly nuzzled her way over to his side the very moment he was properly situated. He had grown accustomed to how she seemed to crave contact with him, and therefore did not react adversely when she pressed herself against him, curling trustingly into him and sighing softly in her sleep.

He tensed slightly at the feel of her bare skin against his, and stilled completely as she moved around and aligned herself completely to his body. Then he relaxed when she seemed to finally settle down, and his arms came around her to gather her close. She emitted yet another soft, contented expulsion of air, and he actually stroked her lazily, absentmindedly, as he closed his eyes and finally dropped his guard completely.

He was in his village, he was in his home territory, his mate was safe by his side; everything was well.

Sleep came quickly for Gaara.

_

* * *

_

:tsuzuku:

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Some Temari and Kankurou cameo and Sand Siblings interaction, as requested by the readers!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Gaara and Sakura's relationship is improving a little more with the passing of each day. His gruff concern endears her to him unknowingly, and he is charmed by her earnest, never-say-die nature, albeit in a completely reluctant fashion. At least, I hope I managed to portray their inadvertent courtship of each other that way.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

I promise that M-rated sections would be up _eventually_, ladies and gentlemen. Until then, please refrain from asking me just when and where the pr0n is. As discussed with my beta, it would not make much sense for Gaara and Sakura to start getting it on all of a sudden, not to mention it would screw up the plot as well. I apologize for stirring up all that excitement for rating this fic in preparation for future mature content, but that's how it is going to be, at least for now.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	12. Chapter 12

**Title:** Shukaku Love

**Author: **paws_bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

**Type:** Continuous (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 6400

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older) **Explicit content ahead!**

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 31/05/09

**

* * *

**

Chapter Twelve

* * *

It was the harsh light streaming through the windows that woke Sakura sometime around noon. The kunoichi tried her best to cling onto the last vestiges of sleep but to no avail. The temperature outside was nearing its zenith; she was beginning to overheat and—

Sakura groaned in discontent and cracked her eyes open reluctantly. She was immediately greeted by the blindingly bright atmosphere and quickly closed her eyes again. Why weren't the curtains drawn shut?

At the same time, the groggy female made a halfhearted attempt to wriggle away from the loose embrace of the man lying beside her. Dazedly, she was somewhat surprised that he was still here; he was normally gone by the time she woke up. Then, she remembered that his duties for the day were being taken care of by his siblings, leaving him free to do whatever he pleased.

And it appeared that he was quite content to remain as he was, lying in late and enjoying the fact that he didn't have to worry over every little village issue, if only for a little while.

Sleek, muscular biceps tensed instinctively as he prevented her from slipping away from him, and he was so near to her that she could feel the steady rhythm of his quiet breathing, the puffs of air that caressed the side of her neck each time he exhaled. Sakura was loathe to open her eyes again; she hummed a sound of lazy irritation at her failed attempt to separate from him in order to cool herself off and relaxed reluctantly when he ran his hands slowly over her slightly dampened, perspiration-slicked body. He really wasn't helping much; Gaara felt a lot warmer than she did, but the feel of his callused fingers rubbing against her bare skin made her arch into his talented hands and whimper with unconscious delight.

Damn, but he was ridiculously good at this, and her poor body had been feeling quite sore after continuously being kept in that living room for the past days.

A small, husky moan escaped her throat as his fingers dug deliciously into a set of particularly tight muscles, and she forgot promptly about trying to get away from him. She let out another low keen, slightly glazed emerald eyes opening, half-lidded, her vision clearing slowly to watch the intent expression of her mate as he worked his magic on her with his firm, steady hands. He noticed her attention immediately, and those impassive eyes of his slid over to meet hers. She was, belatedly, aware that she was clad in only her undergarments, but somehow, she could not bring herself to care about her attire too much. Instead, she chose to lean her head against his chest, and nuzzled the side of his neck in a show of thanks—and affection.

He paused for a brief moment, and when he started to move again it was to bend his head down to deliver a long, wet kiss on her bare shoulder. His action surprised her somewhat; he hadn't kissed her since they came to Suna, hadn't behaved inappropriately around her, hadn't even tried to force her into doing anything she wasn't ready for. He had been a perfect gentleman with her, but surprisingly enough, his current display of affection did not discomfort her at all. On the contrary; she remained at ease and relaxed even as his tongue flicked out to taste her better, and he worked his way languidly up the slender curve of her neck, nipping and licking her tender, sensitive skin with careful accuracy and successfully dragging out a quiet whimper from her.

Her lack of protests was his largest incentive to proceed.

His hands never stopped caressing her, and she soon found herself flat on her back as he hovered less than an inch above her, his mouth working busily on the curve of her chin, the side of her lips, but not claiming her right away. Despite herself, she was getting frustrated over his blatant neglect; though an afternoon romp with him in bed was certainly something she hadn't planned on having in the first place—but what the hell.

She had been on edge without even noticing it, and the way Gaara was touching her was only making her feel even more intense and urgent.

'_Damn it!'_ Inner Sakura screeched. _'Why wasn't he kissing her? Just kiss him already!'_

He was surprised by the small, impatient growl that came out from her throat, as well as the mildly annoyed light gleaming in her verdant eyes. Then she reached up, grabbed his head before he could react, and then pulled him towards her. Their lips met in an intense, open-mouthed kiss, and she quickly wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, automatically aligning her body to his as she tilted her face up and assaulted him with as much fervor as she could manage.

He was right; his mate, his little lioness, was fiercely aggressive when she wanted something.

And right now, she wanted him.

The savage flare of satisfaction that thrummed through his veins was simply unmistakable. She was not resistant to the notion of intimacy with him, and right now, he was more than happy to acquiesce to her forceful demands. He pulled away from her voracious lips slightly, at the same time his hands traveled down to her waist, gripping her firmly and holding her in place even as he settled himself over her. She accepted him with raw abandon, nipping his lips hard and daringly raising her hips to meet his.

A husky groan escaped his lips as he bore down upon her to keep her from wriggling around but she merely arched and pressed herself against him. A languorous look glinted in her eyes as she stared at him, and then she reached up slightly to kiss him again, pulling his bottom lip into her luscious mouth and sucking lightly against his flesh. Sakura was feeling gloriously bold, and that bemused, heated gaze of his only served to encourage her sudden wild streak.

She liked it when he looked at her with those intense jade eyes, when he gave her his full, undivided attention. It made her feel as if she had the power to accomplish anything…

Maybe even bring him to his knees.

The thought excited her; she wanted him to feel the same way she did, unleashed and aroused and so very possessive of him. And—

"_You are mine_." His low whisper made her spine tingle as he said it against her lips, and then those sinfully talented hands of his started to move across her aching body. She let him cup her breast through her bra, and watched his expression as he looked at her. He didn't seemed satisfied with the barrier that prevented him from caressing her silky flesh, and when he started to push her bra up to free the soft globes from their confines, she helped him. Unlocking her arms from around his neck, she reached behind her to unclasp the undergarment, allowing him to remove it from her torso and toss the delicate material to the side. It was quickly forgotten as he stared at her exposed breasts. She started to feel slightly self-conscious as he continued to look at her, but one glance at those glazed jade orbs instantly made her feel like the most desirable woman on earth.

She liked that feeling very much, and liked it even more because he was the one giving it to her.

He cupped her with both hands this time, the rough calluses on his palms making her gasp involuntarily as they brushed across her sensitive nipples. Her eyes darkened, and she watched as he weighed her carefully with those large hands of his, almost as if he was afraid of hurting her accidentally. The fact that he was being so ridiculously cautious with her endeared him to her further, but he had to know that she was a lot tougher than he thought.

Gaara's brows lifted in surprise when her hands came up and curled around his. Their eyes met, and then she guided his hands to squeeze her willing flesh, licking her succulent lips as she allowed him to push her breasts together enticingly and knead her a little harder than he would have.

"I'm not going to break, Gaara." Her voice was breathy. Then she made him release her, and he watched with hungry eyes as her pert breasts bounced back, apparently unharmed, her nipples peaked and pouting with arousal, ready for another go.

"_Touch me like you mean it_."

She was pushy when she didn't get what she wanted, but he was more than willing to fulfill her wishes.

Sakura almost regretted it when her deceptively mild-mannered and usually composed mate lunged for her suddenly, and she winced inwardly in surprise when he proceeded to fondle and touch her abruptly. He seemed to have an unusual fixation with her breasts, rolling her delicate pink nipples almost painfully between his roughened thumbs and making her toes curl while he was at it, massaging her rounded flesh and making her whimper with growing enjoyment.

Then he put his mouth to good use, and Sakura nearly went wild in his arms.

Enveloping a nipple completely in his mouth, he sucked and nipped her hard, eliciting loud gasps from her throat and making her clutch at him tightly. His fingers continued to play and tease her other breast, and then he released her darkened peak with a loud 'pop', nudging his nose against her sweet smelling, strawberry scented skin until he reached the underside of her full, heaving chest. He proceeded to lick the sensitive flesh, and when her breath hitched, he scraped his teeth lightly against her.

Sakura closed her eyes, and moaned helplessly. All the attention that he was piling on her breasts was making her womb throb and contract with increasing pressure. The kunoichi squeezed her thighs together in a vain effort to relief some of her sexual discomfort, but it was to no avail. The fact that Gaara appeared completely content to feast upon her pert chest and nowhere else was not helping matters at all, and the more he played with her breasts, the more urgent she felt.

Desperate.

At the moment, her mate was avidly showing his appreciation for her beautiful breasts by planting love bites all over said area. She was just right for him. She was not overly voluptuous like her sensei, nor was she completely devoid of curves like some extremely…streamlined kunoichi he knew. Her breasts filled his palms to perfection, like a pair of ripe, juicy peaches, just for his enjoyment. And enjoy them he did.

It was becoming increasingly apparent to Sakura that her mate was definitely a 'breast' man.

However, as much as she enjoyed his enthusiasm over her chest, there were also other parts of her that were demanding his attention.

Sakura tried to cue him subtly at first; she shifted under him in an indication of discontent, though she tried her best not to look at what he was doing. There was something very erotic about the way Gaara looked whilst caressing and kissing her breasts, and just watching him made her feel more damp and excited than she already was, and so Sakura tried not to stare.

The fact that she could feel everything he did to her really wasn't helping that particular endeavor along. Still, Sakura kept her eyes firmly on the ceiling, and when it didn't seem like Gaara had cottoned on to her needs, she frowned slightly and started to rub herself against him, arching her hips to his and keening softly, trying to convince him to bring his attention further _south_.

Imagine her squeak of outrage when he actually put his hands on the curve of her hips to _still_ her!

Sakura had enough of being subtle; did he need a glaring neon sign to point him downwards?!!

It was apparent that she had to do everything herself.

With an irritated sigh (but not _that_ irritated), she reached down to where one of his hands was at the moment, grabbed him, pried him off her hip, and tugged his arm downwards to rest his fingers between her parted thighs, right upon her panties. He finally deigned to lift his face from her _distracting_, heaving chest to look at her.

His light green eyes were darkened to a shade nearly like hers, and she found herself licking her lips when their eyes met. He looked so _hungry_.

His hand was relaxed under her control, and she maneuvered his fingers just so that he touched her through the dampened lace. Her reaction was instantaneous. Her brilliant eyes lowered to a lazy half mast; she bit her lower lip in reaction to the slight pressure at the entrance of her sensitive core, and her hips bucked involuntarily into his hand. A low, throaty moan vibrated from her chest, and her face started to flush even more.

His gaze narrowed slightly as he watched her sensual reaction. The scent of her growing arousal was sharp and heady in his mind, and then she looked at him coyly from under long, dense lashes.

"Touch me here," she whispered huskily. "_Please_."

For a brief moment he just looked at her, looked at her with those beautiful eyes of his. Normally blanked and apathetic, they were now filled with so much desire, just for her. His intense gaze made her tremble with want and anticipation, and then he drew nearer, slowly eating up whatever space was left between them, his fingers still pressed against her most secret place. He was straddling her now, his knees by the sides of her hips, his hand starting to rub her there. Her eyes fluttered close, a whine escaped her, and she started to move instinctively against his palm. Her face was upturned to his, and he bent down, drinking lazily from her lips. She parted her mouth in response, inviting him generously into her honeyed depths. The kiss was slow, wet, languid. His free hand came up to claim her breast, and this time he only kneaded her flesh absentmindedly whilst she moaned into his mouth, her own hands drifting upwards to run restlessly across his back and into his dusty, red hair.

They were both perspiring. The temperature was outrageously high at this time in Suna, and their…activity wasn't helping in cooling them down whatsoever. It didn't seem to matter to the both of them, and they hardly noticed their sweat-slicked bodies. She let out a sudden sharp gasp when his fingers roved over to the edge of her panties, and then slipped deftly under it. The rough pad of his thumb found the little sensitive mass of nerves that gave her so much pleasure almost immediately, and she clenched her fingers helplessly into his hair as he probed his index finger carefully into her tight, slick depth.

Her approval was apparent. Her hips arched into his fingers before she could control herself, and she contracted around him in a manner that made him growl softly with lust. His thumb continued to exert an addictive pressure against her clitoris, and then he slowly dipped yet another finger into her, past the sensitive folds of her vulva, and into her muscular, damp passage, which he physically _ached_ to be in.

She was panting by the time he had both fingers in her, and he, too, was breathing hard as he looked down upon her flushed, aroused features. Her sleek thighs were grasping him as best as she could, trying to hold him in place whereas her tight, hot channel squeezed his fingers hard, almost as if trying to milk this substitute dry. In reaction, her mate reached down for her and kissed her hard, and then he began to pull out of her slowly, only to slide his digits back in when she whined in protest.

He groaned softly as well; she was so sleek and wet and ready for him!

But he could not take her now.

Not yet.

That didn't mean she had to suffer just because of it, though. He would help her find fulfillment, even if he couldn't attain it himself from her body. She had turned to him for physical release; he would give it to her, and it would serve to strengthen their bond even further. A rather advantageous situation, either way he saw it.

There was a sense of growing urgency on her face as he continued his sensual ministrations on her body, her hips jerking in tandem with his hand as he pressed against her, stretching her carefully with his slightly spread fingers and eliciting a strangled whimper of pleasure from her. His thumb continued to draw firm circles around her stiff little bud, and slowly, he could feel her orgasm begin to build up within her body. The signs were all there; she was beginning to stiffen, her eyes were cloudy and glazed with lust, her delicate features were twisted in a most alluring display of passion, her fingers were clenched tight against his scalp and shoulder, and last but not least, her soft whimpers were escalating to full out, throaty moans as she rocked herself needily against him.

Sakura could hardly see the handsome redhead currently half lying on top of her. She was being bombarded by so many sensations—enjoyable, pleasurable sensations—that she could hardly think straight. Yet she was still dissatisfied, reaching blindly, instinctively, for an ultimate climax that her mate was attempting to give to her. The way Gaara was touching her made her yearn for more, _yearn for him_, and his talented fingers were only barely enough to satiate her wild cravings at the moment. Her body shook and strained as she tried to move with the rhythm of his fingers, and she bit her lips hard as the knot in her womb seemed to grow tighter and tighter.

Anytime soon.

He looked at her writhing form, reckless and in complete abandon, as she strove almost frantically for her release. She looked even more beautiful like this, desperate and frenzied, completely depending on him to bring her over the edge.

Now.

He bent down towards her and covered her mouth with his to swallow her sexy little cries, even as she became rigid and her thighs clamped down tightly upon his wrist. His hand was trapped between her legs, his fingers kept in place as her inner muscles began to ripple and convulse around him. Her face was flushed and tensed as her orgasm seemed to go on and on, and throughout the entire process her mate soothed and quieted her husky moans by planting small, calming kisses on her upturned lips and face. Eventually, her shudders began to lessen and her body started to relax as she slowly descended from her sexual high. She began to return Gaara's affection slowly, and with a soft sigh of complete contentment, her thighs automatically loosened their death grip on her lover's hand, finally allowing him to move his fingers out of her.

The hand that he had used to bring her to fulfillment was completely dampened by the release of her essence. He was fascinated and completely aroused by the sight of his fingers slipping out from her slick depths. Sated and now completely limp, Sakura watched with mild curiosity as her redheaded mate lifted his fingers towards his mouth and gave his index digit a casual lick.

She quickly turned bright red with embarrassment and a small, renewed burst of arousal caused her womb to contract instinctively when she watched, dry mouthed, as he continued to clean his fingers with his mouth and tongue, the act sensual and oddly captivating.

He noticed her looking at him with a now familiar glaze in her eyes, and he lowered his hand slowly, transferring his attention back to her, watching her with his unblinking jade eyes as she licked her lips, and then reached for him.

She rose from the bed to a half reclining position, and then she leaned towards him and kissed him. He responded to her immediately, and Sakura suppressed a wicked shiver as she tasted herself on his tongue. She pressed herself close to him, and he growled into her mouth when the soft globes of her breasts pushed themselves enticingly against his chest. At the same time, she tried to straddle him, only to shudder longingly when her hips met his. The proof of his arousal was blatant against her most secret place, hard and straining against her as if instinctively trying to seek out her softness.

She gave a soft whimper and arched into him willingly, even as he shuddered and his hands flew straight down to the curve of her hips, stilling her immediately. She pulled away from his kisses reluctantly, her lips reddened and kiss swollen, her eyes dark and questioning. Why did he stop?

"Don't you want-"

Her question ended abruptly in a low, breathless cry when he rocked his hips into hers, and then he held firm when she struggled against his hold to buck against him.

"We can't." His voice was hoarse, strained with unfulfilled desire and overpowering need. Their eyes met. "You are to remain untouched until after the wedding."

The brides of all the previous Kazekage were supposed to remain pure until the night of their wedding. Ninja or not, virginity was still highly prized by the noble clans, and Gaara's bloodline was as old as the day of Suna's creation, the ideals of his family and village council still steeped in tradition.

She whimpered in quiet protest. It was true that she was a virgin; working feverishly hard on improving her skills as a kunoichi and medic-nin, as well as holding on to the hope of retrieving a lost teammate, hadn't helped her love life much, and the men who had indicated interest in her hadn't impressed her at all. Until now, when a certain arrogant, infuriatingly obstinate redhead had forced his way into her life like an unstoppable typhoon, pushing her to wake up and look to the future instead of wallowing in the past.

"I tore my hymen accidentally during training, a long time ago," she told him flat out. "It would make no difference."

But it did. The principle of the matter remained—he was not to consummate their union until after the sacred vows of marriage were spoken, and he would follow it to the letter.

The stubborn look in his glazed eyes told her that he would not budge, no matter how obvious it was that he wanted her just as badly as she did him.

She slumped against his hold eventually, giving up on that particular endeavor. "You are such a boring, stoic man," she muttered grudgingly. To her surprise, her mate continued to hold her to him, and he let out a shaky breath in answer. Sakura thought that he was somewhat amused by her remark, but could not help but feel guilty all the same. She had started something he could not finish, and she really didn't think that he was feeling very comfortable at the moment, with a raging hard-on and no way to satisfy himself.

She bit her lips, even as she nuzzled the side of his neck apologetically. Then, an idea struck her, and she glanced askance at him to gauge his reaction. He was still looking tense, but at the same time, he was calm and slowly but surely bringing himself back under control. Sakura quickly made her decision, and shifting slightly so that she could have better access to him, she reached down quickly between them before he could figure out what she was trying to do and started to stroke him boldly through his pants.

To say that Gaara was surprised would be an understatement. The redhead hissed in shock when he felt her touch his erection delicately, shyly, before becoming bolder and rubbing him through the fabric of his sleeping pants. He clenched his jaw and suppressed a grunt when she caressed him from tip to root, and quickly reacted before she could do more damage to his already badly dented control. His hands slipped from her hips to her hand, stalling her mid-stroke and forcing her attention back to him.

"What are you doing?" His tone was rough, almost ragged. She merely gave him a small smile that made his jade gaze darken, and then she shook away his hands and resumed her tender ministration on his body, leaning forwards and kissing him to shut him up while at the same time slipping her hand through the waistband of his trousers and palming him gently. A strangled groan escaped from his lips and he kissed her hard to keep from reacting to the way her fingers were playing up and down his sensitive length. She responded eagerly, allowing him to ravage her mouth with his deep, drugging kisses, even as she brought him out to look at him.

Sakura was no stranger to the anatomy of a man. She had seen many a naked nin during the course of her career as a medic, and therefore, it hardly fazed her to look at her mate's proudly erect form. He was a magnificent specimen, rigid and heavily veined, pulsing excitedly in her hand as she continued to stroke him. She wanted to see him properly, though, so she pulled herself reluctantly away from his mouth and slid off him to sit by his side instead.

He allowed her to separate from him, and chose to watch her intently as she touched him with her soft hands, as she licked her lips and stared at his rigid phallus with a light of lust and excitement in those beautiful eyes of hers. Then she curled her fingers carefully around him and started the mind numbing process of slowly tugging and rubbing up and down his heavy length, mimicking the intimate act that his body craved, and he could only grit his teeth and enjoy the sinfully decadent pleasure that she was giving him.

The way his eyes glazed over as he settled down and took delight in her sensual attention made her realize, quickly, that she enjoyed bringing him pleasure. Watching him as he was now, literally in the palm of her hand and breathing hard in an effort to curb himself from arching into her, Sakura came to the conclusion that she genuinely wanted him to come undone. She wanted to see him when he lost control, and she wanted to be there for him when it was all over.

There was no hesitation from her as she bent over him and gave him a tentative lick. Gaara stiffened in disbelief as his bold little mate got onto her knees and shyly teased him with her tongue, swirling the rough, wet appendage over his sensitive slit and tasting his essence even as her hand continued to pump up and down his length. His stomach clenched hard in reaction, and before he could gather the will to drag her back up, she took him into her mouth.

He saw nothing but white.

"_Sakura._"

His voice was hoarse, almost raw as she enveloped him into the hot, wet pressure of her mouth. It wasn't much, just his mushroomed tip and maybe a little bit more, but it was nearly enough to make him forget his own name. Then, she started to move, her raspy tongue rubbing along the underside of his shaft as she moved her head down and tried to take in as much of him as she could, her lips wrapping around him with mind blowing tightness even as she started to suck hard at him and pull back slowly.

He _growled_, a sound so loud and guttural that it excited her just listening to it. The pink-haired female ran her tongue around his erection as she raised and lowered herself rhythmically over his length, careful not to choke herself and occasionally scraping her teeth against his sensitive flesh, earning a strangled groan from him every time she did so. The fact that he was allowing her to maneuver him into such a helpless position made her feel strangely powerful and in control, and Sakura was drunk off this sensation, off the fact that she affected him just as badly as he did her. Never had she thought that she would be pleasuring him like this; in the past, just the mere thought of the act itself had always felt so unnatural and wrong to her, but with him it was as if it hardly mattered. The fact that he didn't taste bad at all—musky and slightly bitter—had helped in cementing her opinion that performing a blowjob on her stoic mate was certainly something that deserved a repeat in the near future.

Emboldened by her success, Sakura decided to try a few tricks that she had overheard from the other medic-nin when they had been excitedly discussing their sex-life over break time a few months ago. Sakura had remembered turning bright red as the older kunoichi had unabashedly gossiped and exchanged tips with one another in the hospital break room, and who would have thought that medic-nin were the biggest bunch of perverts around, that they had no qualms using the tools of their trade to increase the sexual pleasure of their respective partners?

The pink-haired kunoichi had been completely embarrassed then, stuck in the room and forced to listen to the sexual pursuits of various colleagues. But now, she was grateful that she had listened to what the more experienced women had to say, and her only thought was how it was going to affect Gaara, and how very naughty she was, to feel so sinfully excited over the notion of causing pleasure to her mate.

Sakura took a deep breath, and then with her luscious lips fastened snugly around him, she took him as far as she could into her mouth again, holding him there as she moaned deeply, the long, sonorous vibration of the sexy, stimulating sound wrapped completely around him as she teasingly massaged the rest of his thick length with her hands. Gaara grunted; it was all he could do not to push into her mouth, and the evidence of his overwhelming control showed in the way his hands were fisted tightly into the silken bed sheets, in the way his sleek muscles bunched and tightened to stop himself from arching into her.

It was apparent that his feisty and bold little lioness was doing all she could to unravel that ironclad will of his, and that he was just as determined not to give in to her…extremely persuasive methods. He was getting dangerously close to completion, hanging by a thread, but he had no intention whatsoever of spending himself within his mate's enticing mouth. Shakily, the lust-hazed Kazekage made himself release his hold on the sheets. Then he lifted his hand, placed it on Sakura's scalp, and drove his fingers quickly into her exotic pink hair.

His intention was to drag her up and away from his erection before she made him climax, but he made the mistake of looking at her. There was something very, _very_ arousing about the way she looked right now—wild and sexual and all his—and instead of nudging her away from him like he had planned, his fingers clenched into her tousled hair instinctively. Unfortunately for him, Sakura was not quite done yet.

A delicate hand quested further south while its sibling continued administering firm, quick, push-pull motions across his ridged length. Gaara could feel his abdomen beginning to tense with the rapid onset of orgasm, and his hand fisted among silky strands of pink, almost as if readying himself to disengage from her—

Then she found him, and wasted no time wrapping her fingers around the twin globes at the base of his phallus, squeezing him lightly, and making him moan huskily in reaction. Still, her mate held onto his iron wrought control with raw tenacity. But Sakura had one last trick up her sleeve.

Her hand started to glow green with healing chakra, and she proceeded to push her carefully constructed energy into him. Her lover was immediately stunned by the utterly _exquisite_ sensation of her warm, powerful energy flooding one of the most sensitive areas of his body, and combined with the wet, sucking pressure of her hot mouth and talented hands, the overwhelmed Kazekage was unable to hold it in any longer.

With a loud grunt that echoed within the huge bedroom, the powerful redhead could only grab on to his little minx of a mate as his testes contracted in a violent orgasm, as he arched helplessly into her mouth and came hard. His body was rigid and straining against his control as he fought not to hurt her accidentally, and to her credit, she remained perfectly still and took everything that he had to give, stroking his thighs in a comforting fashion as she waited for him to finish.

Sakura quickly found herself pulled away from her lover the moment he could think straight again, and before she could react, she found herself flat on her back with her breath knocked out of her as he settled firmly over her, his mouth covering hers before she could voice a single protest, his tongue pushing for entrance past her parted lips as he kissed her hard, sharing in his essence and enjoying the heady taste of herself mixed with him. Sakura responded with equal fervor, wrapping herself around his taut torso and basking under his intimate attention as she writhed under him and tried her best to return his long, wet kisses.

Then he pulled away from her heaving form abruptly to give her a hard, inscrutable look, much to her surprise.

"Who taught to you to do all this?"

His voice was low, still husky from their sexual encounter, but the agitation she sensed behind his slightly frigid tone astounded her further. It was such a sudden question. Was he—

"Are you jealous?"

She sounded completely bewildered over the absurd notion.

Gaara was not. He had every right to be angry; she was his mate, and although she was still untouched, she was far from inexperienced. As much as common sense dictated that it was ridiculous for him to want to attack the man responsible for teaching her such acts of intimacy even before he could claim her as mate, just the very notion of his laughing, feisty female engaged in the same acts that they had just committed moments ago with another man made his eyes turn cold.

Forget about common sense and fairness. He would hunt the man down like an animal and rip him apart, limb from limb for laying his hands on his woman.

"Who is he?" His tone was almost arctic.

Sakura could only gape at him. And everything had started so well too, though the fact that he was being jealous and possessive of her warmed her heart reluctantly. She could not help herself; a small smile started to form on her face, much to his increasing agitation.

A part of her wanted to tease him a little more, but judging by his forbidding expression, Sakura decided not to rile him further. He was almost frothing at the mouth, at least internally, and Sakura had never seen any joy in toying around with the emotions of others before.

Still, she privately agreed with Inner Sakura that her mate was rather adorable when he was jealous.

The pink-haired female raised her head slightly to press an affectionate kiss on the side of his frowning lips. Her hand came up in an effort to tame his messy, dusty red hair. He caught her easily.

"Sakura…" he spoke warningly.

"A group of medic-nin taught me in the hospital break room during break time," she admitted to her aggravated mate at last, much to his confusion. "They were gossiping about how to best pleasure their boyfriends, and I was stuck in the middle of it all." She shrugged innocently at him. "Guess I picked up some things."

He hadn't expected for her answer to be so simple. She smiled at him again, though this time, it was more of a mischievous, impish smirk.

"Are you still going to be jealous?"

He merely narrowed his eyes at her, completely unamused. "I don't get jealous," he said at last, blatantly ignoring the way she rolled her eyes at him. "You are mine, and I don't share."

He half expected her to puff up in anger over his possessive words. To his surprise, she nodded in agreement.

"Fine," she agreed shortly, even as her eyes met his straight on. "That means you are mine as well, and I won't share you either." She paused, and then gave him a dangerous stare. "I will gladly tear apart any hussy shameless enough to come near you."

Her declaration was surprisingly fierce and ended in a small growl as she thought of her mate's legions of fangirls. Sakura had tried her best to ignore the lovesick females clamoring after Gaara at first, but now that she had a _personal_, vested interest in the redhead, there was simply no way in hell she was going to watch docilely as women tried to overwhelm her strong, powerful, albeit still somewhat socially inept, mate.

_Her mate_.

The raw burst of possessiveness surprised even her, and she appeared slightly disconcerted by it. She shook it off just as quickly, though, and instead focused her attention on Gaara to gauge his reaction.

He was smiling faintly at her. It was only the tiniest tilt of his lips, but the fact that it was a genuine expression made it even more precious to her. It was apparent that he approved of her possessiveness, had expected it even.

"Good." His tone was mild, but she could see that he was pleased.

"Good." She echoed him with an additional prod to his shoulder. "Now that interrogation time is over, can you get off me now? I want to take a shower." She blushed. "It's so hot in here."

_

* * *

_

::tsuzuku::

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Finally! The irresponsible authoress has an update for Shukaku Love!

At least, I can almost hear some of you saying just that. Once again, I would like to apologize for the lack of updates, as well as to reassure the curious masses that Shukaku Love is not being discontinued. I have no intention of abandoning this fic, so please don't worry about that.

Hope you people will enjoy this chapter for what it's worth—roughly thirteen pages of smut!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic!

--paws


End file.
